Leeds United: Daniel Farke should turn to Willy Gnonto for goals – opinion

I can’t remember an exact moment when Leeds fans lost faith in Brenden Aaronson, but we may have seen the moment Daniel Farke did.

Tracking back at Loftus Road on Saturday, Aaronson intercepted Koki Saito’s pass, only to inexplicably play a no-look square ball in his own box back to the Japanese international that proved the perfect assist.

Farke replaced Aaronson with Wilfried Gnonto at half-time and the Italy Under-21 international had an immediate impact in Aaronson’s number 10 role as Leeds came back from a 2-0 deficit against QPR to draw 2-2.

The American has been a lightning rod for fans since his first season at the club when United spiralled towards relegation under his compatriot Jesse Marsch.

“It has been frustrating the last two or three games because I haven’t been able to see the ball because of the way teams are playing” Aaronson told LUTV before last weekend’s fixture.

“I watched a lot of film, I spoke to the coaches a lot, I want to find a way to get back to where I was at my best.”

Aaronson’s work rate has never been in doubt, and Farke spoke about it in his post-match news conference, when the Leeds manager explained why he did not play Gnonto from the start.

“Because I opted for our two ballers in the double-six role, I thought that we couldn’t afford to lose the running and relentless work of Brenden Aaronson in the number 10 position.”

Farke emphasised Aaronson’s defensive work rate, probably because the American has the same number of goal involvements as Gnonto (10) – despite playing over 1,200 more minutes of football this season.

Aaronson’s metrics for pressing and pressures are world class, but pressing can only get you so far, and it seems Leeds must turn to Gnonto for goals.

Find more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external.