Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke was fairly ruthless in the summer transfer window when he told Patrick Bamford that he would not be a part of the squad for the 2025/26 campaign.
It may not have come as a huge shock, given that the striker did not start a single game in the Championship last season, but it was still a ruthless move by the manager.
In July, Daniel Farke revealed that he had an “honest” conversation with Bamford and how he felt that the forward needed to go somewhere else to be the main man at a new club.
Later in the summer, Leeds and the former England international agreed a mutual termination of his contract to part ways, allowing him to be a free agent to find a new team.
Despite the fairly impressive record in the graphic above, Bamford often found himself as the scapegoat among the fanbase in tough times at Elland Road, which is understandable as a striker who is always going to miss chances and attract criticism.
Another player who could have been described as a scapegoat at points in the last 13 months or so is Brenden Aaronson, but he seems to slowly be winning the supporters over.
Why Brenden Aaronson is winning Leeds fans over
The USA international is unlikely to develop into a regular Premier League starter who can contribute with ten goals or assists from an attacking midfield or wide position. His statistics up to this point in his top-flight career illustrate that.
Aaronson has scored one goal and provided three assists in 42 outings in the division, in the 2022/23 and 2025/26 campaigns combined, which shows that he has failed to deliver consistent quality.
The former RB Salzburg star’s form against the better sides in the Championship last season, despite the Whites picking up 100 points in the league, also did not do much to change the perception of him among the fanbase.
Aaronson failed to deliver a single goal or assist for his team in his ten appearances against the other five teams that finished in the top six in the second tier in the 2024/25 campaign.
However, some of the American attacker’s performances in the Premier League this season have earned him some credit among the fanbase, as he has worked his socks off for the side out of possession.
Goals
0
Bottom 3%
xA
0.83
Top 17%
Assists
0
Bottom 3%
Fouls won
10
Top 8%
Tackles won
12
Top 7%
Duels won
28
Top 15%
Duel success rate
50.9%
Top 23%
Ball recoveries
16
Top 26%
As you can see in the table above, Aaronson ranks highly among his positional peers in a host of defensive metrics, whilst he also has not had the assist that his xA deserves.
His performance against Bournemouth on Saturday led to Leeds supporter and TEAMtalk editor James Marshment questioning whether it was his best display for the club in the top-flight, which shows that he is starting to earn some respect from the fans.
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Whilst Aaronson is slowly moving away from being a scapegoat, another Leeds player who played on Saturday is quickly on his way to becoming the new Patrick Bamford.
Central defender Pascal Struijk is in danger of becoming this season’s scapegoat and the new Bamford after the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the weekend.
Why Struijk may become the new Bamford
As is the case with strikers and missing chances, it can be easy for centre-backs to become scapegoats because they are typically the players fans and pundits look straight to when a goal goes in.
Some fingers were pointed in Struijk’s direction for Eli Kroupi’s last-gasp equaliser because Marcos Senesi beat him too easily in the air to knock the ball in the direction of the striker who scored to make it 2-2.
That was not the only time that the Dutch defender, who was given a 5/10 player rating by MOT Leeds News, was questioned by fans or media during the match, though.
The Athletic’s Beren Cross noted that there were “murmurs of anxiety” in the ground when Struijk or Karl Darlow had the ball at their feet, whilst Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth stated that the centre-back “had a couple of nervy moments” in the first half.
Senesi beating him to the header for the equaliser in stoppage time did not do much to silence any doubters, with some on social media questioning why Jaka Bijol, who won 67% of his aerial duels in the Serie A last season, has not played a minute in the Premier League this term.
Appearances
6
Pass accuracy
93%
Error led to shot
0
Error led to goal
0
Dribbled past
1x
Ground duel success rate
40%
Aerial duel success rate
46%
As you can see in the table above, it is fair to question Struijk’s proficiency in duels because he has lost the majority of his battles on the ground and in the air this season in the Premier League.
However, a pass accuracy of 93% without a single error that has led to a shot or a goal for the opposition in six matches suggests that supporters do not need to feel nervous when the left-footed star is passing the ball out from the back under pressure.
Struijk, like any player, has strengths and weaknesses to his game. Given the nature of Bournemouth’s second goal and his statistics in aerial duels, it is fair for supporters to be unhappy with his performances in that particular aspect of the game.
However, the Dutchman also brings quality and composure to the team on the ball and has only been dribbled past once, which shows that opposition attackers have struggled to beat him for pace.
Therefore, Struijk should not be this season’s scapegoat because he brings a lot to the team in spite of some weak points in his performances, but some of the concerns emerging from Saturday’s match suggest that he may be on his way to becoming this year’s Bamford.