Leeds United opted for a different strategy to their fellow relegated clubs during the transfer window.
While Leicester City and Southampton were selling first team stars for big money Leeds saw eight members of last season’s squad leave on loan.
Leeds were able to generate in the region of just £26 million through player sales in the summer, while the other two raised a combined amount of around £250 million.
Most of the Whites’ squad had loan clauses inserted into their contracts that became active upon relegation, and so they decided to use them rather than sell, due to their decrease in value as a result of poor performances.
One major example of that is Brenden Aaronson, who was bought for £25 million in 2022 but endured a shocker of a season, so much so that Leeds would’ve had to take a significant loss on him if he was sold.
As per Phil Hay’s latest article for the Athletic this morning, Aaronson was seen as a player Leeds could benefit from financially further down the line, if he was able to have a good season abroad.
With that in mind, Leeds opted to loan him out to avoid selling him for a loss with a view to letting him go permanently later down the line for somewhere close to what was paid for him.
However, that strategy so far is looking like it will backfire, with Aaronson having had a dismal start to his time at Union Berlin.
After getting sent off in his second appearance, Aaronson has started just one game in all competitions since, in which he was hauled off at half time.
He is yet to register a single goal or assist, with the last time he found the back of the net at club level against Chelsea almost 14 months ago.
If Aaronson is to continue performing at this level, Leeds are going to be stuck in the same, if not worse situation next summer.
If anything, Aaronson’s value will have decreased even more, leaving Leeds with a decision whether to keep a player clearly not good enough, loan him out again, or sell him for a big loss.
