Not even the most optimistic of Leeds United supporters would have predicted that the recipient of the August Player of the Month accolade for the Whites would be Brenden Aaronson before a ball was kicked this Championship season.
The American attacking midfielder has turned his failing Leeds story around already this campaign, with two strikes registered from five second tier clashes to date, after being chucked out on loan to Union Berlin for all of the 2023/24 season amidst his side’s demise from the Premier League.
Whilst he’ll be overjoyed with the drastic change in narrative, there are still a number of high-profile signings from the same time Aaronson was picked up that remain firmly in the Leeds bad books, including forgotten defender Rasmus Kristensen.
Kristensen's transfer to Leeds
There would have been excitement in the air when Kristensen penned a deal to sign for the West Yorkshire outfit back in 2022, costing the Whites a considerable £10m fee, with the bumper switch seeing the Danish full-back reunite with his ex-RB Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch in the process.
Now, however, with hindsight firmly on side, the Scandinavian goes down as a major transfer misfire, and another flop that former Leeds director of football Victor Orta has to take some accountability over.
Snapped up in the same disastrous window as the likes of Tyler Adams and Maximilian Wober were also signed, the 27-year-old did show flashes of his promise as an attack-oriented full-back at Elland Road, with three goals picked up from 30 games in total.
However, it would be his calamitous defending – lining up in a leaky Leeds side that conceded goals for fun on the way to relegation – that would leave a whole lot to be desired, with just one clean sheet registered from 26 top-flight appearances for the Whites.
He has since been moved on to AS Roma and now Eintracht Frankfurt on loan, with Leeds presumably desperate to get him off their roster for good soon, with Whites content creator Conor McGilligan even boldly labelling him as a “League One” standard defender during his difficult 2022/23 campaign.
Leeds might well be able to fulfil this wish soon, with his current short-term Bundesliga employers impressed by the Dane during the infancy of this new season so far, even with his poor time in England well documented.
Kristensen's time at Frankfurt
Kristensen could well have an exit route out of Leeds for good if he keeps up his promising displays in Germany, with Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung notably pointing out the 27-year-old as a player who is of a “high quality” recently.
Although the brand new Frankfurt number 13 is finding it tricky to pick up clean sheets still – much like his Leeds stay – with zero amassed from three Bundesliga appearances, the numbers are far more glowing elsewhere.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Kristensen
Games played
3
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches*
54.0
Accurate passes*
25.3 (79%)
Tackles*
2.0
Ball recoveries*
4.7
Clearances*
3.3
Total duels won*
4.3
Impressively, when looking at the table above, Kristensen has actually bettered Jayden Bogle’s own ball recovery total per clash for Leeds playing out in Germany, with the ex-Sheffield United man only averaging 2.4 per Championship game playing for Daniel Farke’s men contrasted next to the Dane’s superior 4.7.
Still, far too many bridges feel as if they’ve been burnt between the Orta signing and the Whites at this point in time, with Aaronson at least willing to fight for his space in the Leeds side in the second tier this campaign, over favouring another loan venture.
The American has managed to win back over Leeds supporters subsequently, whereas it’s likely now that Kristensen’s end at Elland Road is in sight, and he will go down as a sizeable waste of money.
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2 ByDan Emery