National boss has message for dropped Leeds United loanee and highlights ex-Whites man's recovery

Aaronson endured a torrid first season at Elland Road, struggling to cope with the physical nature of the English top flight and adding little in the way of end product as the Whites suffered relegation.

The American was among a group of players who sought an exit via their contracts, which included loan clauses in the event of a drop into the Championship, and the hope at Leeds was that a fresh start in Germany would allow him to shine and bring his value back up. But the circa-£25m signing has found life difficult with Bundesliga strugglers Union Berlin, who sit 14th in the 18-team division. Despite being outscored by all but two of their rivals, Union Berlin have included attacking midfielder Aaronson in just six league starts so far this season. And his 21 appearances have yielded just a single goal and no assists.

A second season of toil has now led to a fresh set-back for Aaronson, who has been dropped from the USMNT squad for their CONCACAF Nations League semi-final clash with Jamaica. Berhalter admits that game time, or the lack thereof, is a big part of Aaronson's problem, but the door remains open for the 38-times capped 23-year-old.

“With Brenden, we’re looking at, in particular, our midfield — he’s been playing midfield a lot for Union Berlin — we think there’s guys ahead of him right now,” said Berhalter. "It’s not a permanent situation. One thing I’ll say on record is that this selection, this group in March is obviously not a permanent group. This is not going to be the group guaranteed moving forward until 2026. That’s an important distinction. Any player, any time, has the opportunity to play their way onto the team. The message for him was, ‘I know this hurts. I know it’s a setback, but use it. Use it to make you stronger, and to keep going and to keep fighting your way through the obstacles that you have to overcome right now.’ It was a good conversation. This is only a slice of time. He’s been a valuable member of our team. We got a lot of respect for Brenden and what he’s done with his career, and how he’s able to grow and progress over these last couple of years.”

Two ex-Leeds men have made the squad however. Tyler Adams, who departed in a permanent move to Bournemouth in rather acrimonious circumstances in the summer transfer window, is back involved after finally making his Premier League debut for the Cherries in the past week. Adams' hamstring injury woes have followed him from Elland Road to the Vitality Stadium and he has just 39 minutes of action to his name since the move.

Adams joins Weston McKennie in the USMNT squad for the March international break. McKennie, like Aaronson, struggled to make an impact in the Premier League last season but as a loan signing from Juventus. And though his inability to shine in England seemed to tally with Juventus' apparent decision to move on without the midfielder, McKennie had other ideas. His national team boss is delighted to see him playing such a pivotal role for Juve this season having battled back into their plans. McKennie has started 24 of 26 Serie A games and added seven assists from the middle of the park.

"We can't say enough about Weston and his growth over these last years," said Berhalter. "If you think about this, Weston was in a situation where he went back to Juventus after the summer and he didn't have a locker, and he didn't have a parking spot. And most players would say, 'Okay, you know, I'm done. I'm leaving this club, it's not for me.' And Weston said, 'You know, 'I'm gonna dig in, and I'm gonna prove that I belong.' And he's done not only that, not only does he belong, but he's proven to be one of the best players of Juventus this year, and one of the top midfielders in Serie A. So it shows his mentality, it shows his growth as a person. And it shows that he's able to take these obstacles and continue on and keep performing. And I think that's a mark of a really good player."