Back in Brenden Aaronson’s apartment in England, there’s a little note perched above his gaming setup. It’s one he sees often. It’s also one designed for him to see often. It’s a reminder, a target, a look into the type of expectations that Aaronson puts on his own shoulders.
That note is simple. It reads, “15 goals, 15 assists.”
Lofty goals, to put it lightly. Since breaking through with the Philadelphia Union in 2019, Aaronson has scored 30 senior goals for club and country. He’s assisted 28, too. But 15 and 15? Those are outrageous numbers, ones that would put him up there with the most prolific attackers in the Championship. Last season, only 10 players hit the 15-goal mark in the Championship. Two hit the 15-assist mark. None did both.
Few outside of Aaronson’s apartment will believe he can hit those goals. Those on the outside who have watched him have likely already labeled him as something else entirely.
Runner, energy guy, supersub, lack of contributions in the final third… Aaronson has heard it all at this point. Some of it’s fair, he admits. Some of it isn’t, though. Those labels aren’t bad and, in fact, he’s proud of the effort he does put in but, if Aaronson could show the world one thing, it’s that he can be more than that, too… if he isn’t already.
“It’s definitely upsetting,” Aaronson tells GOAL, “because I think, in moments, I show a lot of quality with the ball. I don’t think a lot of people see that. People see my energy and that type of thing, and that’s easy to see. You’ll always see me giving 100 percent. That’s something that I’ve always had. That was the first thing I learned from my dad at a young age.”
“I want to be outside of that box,” he adds. “I’m not just a runner. I’m not just a guy that’s pressing all the time. I’ll show that, of course, but I think I’m also more than that, you know? I think I’m a guy that brings other things to the pitch and, yeah, I just wish people could see that more.”
To start the season at Leeds, Aaronson has begun to make his case. He’s already scored four goals this season and added an assist while collecting a Player of the Month award in August. That hot start came at a time of massive uncertainty, one where fans were eager and ready to write Aaronson off. No one in Leeds is writing off Aaronson now and, as the USMNT marches towards the World Cup, Aaronson feels he still has so much to prove on both sides of the Atlantic.
Those labels are there, and they likely aren’t going anywhere, but, ahead of the USMNT’s Nations League clash with Jamaica, GOAL caught up with Aaronson to discuss his evolving game, his return to Leeds and how finding a bit of confidence can go a long way…