Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson is set to represent USA at a major international tournament for the first time in his career. The 22-year-old is currently in Qatar preparing for the World Cup, with USA set to kick off their group stage campaign with a match against Wales on Monday.
2022 has already been a whirlwind of a year for Aaronson; playing in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career, and winning the Austrian league and cup double for the second successive season. And that all came before he earned his £25m summer move to Leeds, becoming the second most expensive American footballer in history after Christian Pulisic.
Aaronson has already proven to be a hit at Leeds and now it appears as though his home nation are banking on him being a key player at the World Cup, if USA are to have any hopes of progressing. Arguably the world's most famous magazine, Time, conducted an interview with Aaronson in the week after Leeds' 2-1 win away at Liverpool, during which he ran 8.2 miles—the most distance any Premier League player has managed in a single game all season.
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Time claim that Aaronson has become 'the U.S.’s hottest soccer prospect for generations' since his move to Leeds, and a lot of the nation's expectations for the World Cup rest on his shoulders. That is despite USA's squad containing the likes of Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest and Gio Reyna, all of whom play for some of Europe's elite clubs.
During the interview, Aaronson spoke of his aspirations for the tournament, and it's fair to say he has high hopes. “Yeah, we’re underdogs, but going into the World Cup … we want to win, so we’re going to give it our all and try to go to the final.”
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