Leeds United are back in action once again in the Championship as they prepare to travel to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in the early kick-off.
They are second in the division after Sheffield United’s win over Sunderland on Friday night and a win in Lancashire would see them move back to the top.
Daniel Farke’s side come into this match off the back of a terrific 3-0 win over recently-relegated Luton Town on Wednesday night, thanks to goals from Sam Byram, Joel Piroe, and Dan James.
Despite that superb victory, there is one Leeds star who could be ruthlessly ditched from the starting XI after an underwhelming individual performance – Brenden Aaronson.
Why Brenden Aaronson should be dropped
The USA international started in the number ten position for the Whites but was not directly involved in any of the three goals, as he ended the match with zero goals and zero assists.
Aaronson did not create any ‘big chances’ for his teammates and failed with two of his three attempted dribbles, whilst he also could not find the back of the net with either of his shots.
The former Union Berlin loanee has now gone four matches without a goal contribution to show for his efforts in the Championship, and six matches without one for club and country.
With the likes of Manor Solomon, Gnonto, James, and Largie Ramazani all fit and available for selection, Aaronson may not be able to afford to have multiple matches without any direct contributions, which is why he could be brutally binned from the XI this afternoon.
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Farke must now drop the American attacking midfielder from the line-up to unleash James from the start on the right wing, with Gnonto moved into a central position.
Why Dan James should be unleashed
Firstly, the Wales international came off the bench on Wednesday night to score a terrific goal, lifting the ball over the goalkeeper from Jayden Bogle’s ball over the top.
His pace offers Leeds a huge threat in transition, as was evidenced by his contributions against Swansea in the previous match, and that could be a useful weapon against Blackburn today.
In the 4-3 win over the Swans last Sunday, James assisted Solomon and Gnonto for goals, whilst he also provided the cross that Ben Cabango scored an own goal from, essentially creating three of the four goals.
Appearances
11
Starts
7
Goals
3
Big chances created
5
Assists
2
As you can see in the table above, the £50k-per-week wizard has contributed with eight goals and ‘big chances’ created in 11 league games this term, despite only starting seven times.
James, who pundit Sanny Rudravajhala described as “electric” last season, has assisted two, three if you include the own goal, and scored one goal in his last two Championship matches, which shows that he is in-form and thriving at the moment.
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Whereas, Aaronson has not provided a goal or an assist in his last four starts in the division for Leeds and must be binned from the XI to make room for the former Manchester United forward to start.
