Phil Hay claims Leeds ace Aaronson must bulk up this summer

Phil Hay has admitted on The Phil Hay Show that Brenden Aaronson must improve on the ball for Leeds United as he’s getting bullied by opposition players.

The Lowdown: Gracia still searching for his best side

After being chased since January 2022, a lot will have been expected from Aaronson when he finally joined Leeds for what was a club-record fee of around £25m, but it’s safe to say he’s struggled.

The United States international has started 22 Premier League games, though it has seen him return a rather poor total of three goal involvements, although he appears to have won over Javi Gracia.

Aaronson has started every league game under Gracia, so he’s clearly a favourite under the Spaniard but given he’s yet to register an assist or score a goal, questions must need to be asked in the near future.

The Latest: Aaronson has to step up

After watching Aaronson live at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon, Hay has urged Aaronson to be better and stronger on the ball as he’s getting bullied too often.

He said: “I think we’ve started to see slightly more influence from Aaronson since Gracia has taken over from Marsch, [but] not enough where I feel like Aaronson could say he’s truly playing well or truly being effective.

“I think physically, Aaronson as a runner and the energy in his game has the legs he needs for the Premier League, but I think there are times where teams do find it a bit too easy to bully him, and maybe that is something he’s going to have to work on.

“He is only young still and maybe that is something that he needs to try and look at and improve over this summer to come and the years ahead.”

The Verdict: Leeds need to get everything out of their players

While Aaronson appears to have stepped up his game since the arrival of Gracia, as the fact that he’s seemingly getting a start ahead of the influential and exciting Wilfried Gnonto, who’s got six goal involvements to his name, could be a source of frustration for fans.

This is because while Aaronson is seemingly working hard off the ball according to Hay, he’s simply not able to make an impact on the game in the final third, having created just five goal-creating actions in the league this term (FBref).

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However, simply working hard off the ball and having energy won’t be enough to warrant a starting spot for much longer, especially if Leeds continue to linger inside the bottom three, as Gracia will need gamechangers to make the difference in their battle to stay up.