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Yanks Abroad

Yanks Abroad weekend: Aaronson's equalizer, Morris debut, Westerlo perfect, & much more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta chimes in with his first Monday analysis of the weekend for Americans abroad. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 12, 2024
3:00 PM

THE 2024/25 season in Europe kicked off in several different leagues this weekend. While the traditional “big five” are yet to get underway, most of the other leagues have begun. This past weekend, we saw the Championship and the Eredivisie have their first slate of games. They join countries such as Belgium, the 2.Bundesliga, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, and Croatia which already started earlier this month.

All of this means we have our first Americans abroad Monday morning column of the 2024/25 season. Dozens of American players were involved in competitive games and among this group, there were some standout performers and some important stories.

Brenden Aaronson scored a late equalizer for Leeds United in a 3-3 draw with Portsmouth, and then minutes later had a chance to win it but missed. Naturally, the fans have been viewing the matter as half-empty.

But Aaronson wasn’t the only player who had an important weekend. Aidan Morris made his debut for Middlesbrough. Head coach Joe Enoch and Jahn Regensburg won their first game of the 2.Bundesliga season. Bryan Reynolds helped Westerlo continue a perfect start with nine points from three games. Malik Tillman scored, and Richard Ledezma earned a very rare start as PSV cruised in its Eredivisie opener. Rokas Pukstas had a nice play building up to Hajduk Split’s lone goal. Korede Osudina had a big day in the Dutch 2nd tier for Dordrecht.

But one of the coolest stories was Jonathan Amon scoring his first goal since October 19, 2020 against his former club, Nordsjaelland. After all he has been through, that was great for him to do.

We will keep the same format as previous years where we talk about the top stories before breaking down the rest by league.

 

Aaronson bags late equalizer

 

Leeds United is hoping to contend for promotion this season, but a 3-3 draw with newly-promoted Portsmouth at home is not a good result. The game marked Brenden Aaronson’s return to Leeds United after spending a season on loan at Union Berlin.

Aaronson, 23, got engaged earlier in the week and was on the bench to begin the game but he entered in the 72nd minute with the score 2-2. Portsmouth ended up taking the lead in the second minute of stoppage time via penalty.

Then in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Aaronson equalized with a nice bit of footwork followed by a low shot from 14 yards out. Then a minute later, he could have won it but missed an open shot from 12 yards out just wide.

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Leeds manager Daniel Farke spoke about Aaronson after the game.

“Just a hug from me [for Aaronson], no words are needed. He is the most disappointed lad in the dressing room. Back from his loan and wants to prove his worth — he could have been the hero. Normally a player of his quality scores this and everyone sings his name. Takes time to win the crowd back and be trusted."

The reason Leeds didn’t win this game are defensive mistakes, not because of Aaronson. Playing at home, Leeds conceded three goals to a newly promoted team. But the numbers were lopsided. Leeds had 10 shots on target while Portsmouth had 4. Leeds had 12 corners, Portsmouth had 0. Leeds had 64% possession to 36% for Portsmouth. Leeds completed over twice the number passes that Portsmouth did.

Meanwhile, Aaronson still outperformed his xG in this game. Sure, he did the hard work for his goal and missed the easier shot. But Aaronson came across from this game as part of the solution, not part of the problem.

 

Yank trio helps PSV win opener


It’s not surprising to see three Americans contributing to a PSV win. That was the case in 2023/24. But in the 2024/25 opener, it was a trio of American players but only this time there was a change to that trio.

Sergino Dest is obviously out until 2025 with his ACL injury, and with the ongoing saga with PSV fullback Jordan Teze, Richard Ledezma was given the nod by head coach Peter Bosz. Ledezma made just one appearance in 2023/24 after returning in January from his loan to NYCFC.

Ledezma went 70 minutes and joined Malik Tillman in the starting lineup, as Tillman went on to score a goal and play the entire 90 minutes. Ricardo Pepi played the final 20 minutes.

In the end, PSV defeated a very poor RKC Waalwijk team that is expected to be in a relegation battle this year.

Tillman’s goal in the 37th minute gave PSV a 3-0 lead. It was an impressive shot from distance but one where he was not defended well and had plenty of space. Tillman made Waalwijk pay for loose marking.



After the game, Bosz commented positively on all three of the American players.

On Ledezma: "That he was good on the ball, we already knew, but whether he would stand up defensively was the question. But he did very well. He is actually a ten, of course, but he can also play at six. Because of his football intelligence, he can hold his own everywhere."

On Tillman:  "When you see him today chasing down to the goalkeeper, that's great. He developed a lot last year, because he found it difficult to be consistent. That was mainly because of the physical strain of three games a week. He has made strides and is on his way to becoming a great football player."

On Pepi: “Pepi didn't score, but filled in wonderfully. Lozano did the same and even scored twice. That was nice to see."

There is a lot to break down. Tillman is progressing at PSV and is a growing in importance to them.

For Pepi, the question remains when the club will trust him with meaningful minutes as opposed to mopping up lopsided games after Luuk de Jong comes out. Obviously, de Jong is a great player, but when does Pepi share the important minutes at striker. Does the club see him as an eventual replacement for the 34-year- de Jong?

For Ledezma, the situation is more complicated. It was obviously very good for him to get a start, even if it was out of position at right back. The problem for Ledezma’s future at the club is that he is expensive. The minimum salary for a non-EU player in the Eredivisie is €500,048 in 2024. PSV can afford that but is probably not going to pay that amount for a seldom used bench player. Ledezma is going to need to play more to justify being at the club as he is in the final year of his contract.

Ledezma made this big defensive play which earned a lot of praise.

 

Maybe PSV extends him with a new deal, but most likely Ledezma is putting himself in the shop window for a future elsewhere.

As for PSV, they have an easy start to the Eredivisie season with Heracles, Almere City, Go Ahead Eagles, NEC, and Fortuna Sittard all on deck. None of them are traditionally strong in the Eredivisie and only NEC finished inside the top 10 last season.

 

Morris makes Championship debut

 

Aidan Morris, 22, made his Championship debut over the weekend and was the top story among Americans in the English 2nd tier’s opening weekend. The former Columbus Crew homegrown went 90 minutes in central midfield in a 1-0 win over Swansea City. Aside from a few mistakes, the outing was generally solid for Morris who contributed on both sides of the ball and was seen as a nice win where Swansea did not have a shot on the goal.

"We are pleased with him - not surprised. He settled in great. It’s why we brought him in.” Boro manager Michael Carrick said. “It's just one game, not to get carried away. But it's a good start."

 

Getting off to a solid start is obviously huge when making a move to a new team, in a new league, in a new country. Morris still has a ways to go before he is a key player for Boro, but getting the first game out of the way on a positive note is important.

It is important for MLS players that a player like Morris succeeds. He left the league as a very accomplished player and his sale was not selling a youth prospect but more selling a finished product. It’s healthy to see the best homegrowns who were in the league for awhile and developed into winning players then begin to add value to clubs where they are sold.

Boro is a club hoping to be a promotion race. If Morris can contribute to that, that will be huge.

 

Reynolds helps perfect Westerlo

 

Westerlo is not a big team in Belgium, but the club is off to a terrific start in 2024/25. On Saturday, Westerlo defeated Union SG 4-3 to move to a perfect nine points from three games. That puts them atop the First Division table.

Bryan Reynolds went the distance at right back for Westerlo and scored in the 54th minute to give Westerlo a 4-1 lead.



Reynolds was strong in this game both offensively and defensively. He won 7/9 of his ground duels and was 2/2 with his aerials. He was 4/5 on his tackles and had 14 passes into the final third.

Griffin Yow also made his season debut for Westerlo after rejoining the team from the Olympics. It was mostly a quiet performance from Yow, which is to be expected after he missed a month.

The big question right now for Westerlo is whether they recalibrate their expectations for the season after a strong start. The club was looking to sell Reynolds and maybe Yow. But if they believe they can contend for a spot in Europe for the first time, maybe they loosen the purse strings and keep the team together to make a push for it.

That will be a big question in the weeks ahead.

 

Amon’s first goal in 4 years

 

Jonathan Amon hasn’t scored since nearly a year before the Tokyo Olympics. The talented winger saw his career nearly sunk due to repeated knee injuries and surgeries. But last season he returned, playing mostly as a sub with Lyngby until a series of starts at the end of the season. In the end, Lyngby narrowly avoided relegation.

Amon, 25, continues to start for Lyngby and on Sunday he earned the start for Lyngby against his first club, Nordsjaelland – where he developed from the academy level. Then in the 34th minute, he scored his first professional goal since October 19, 2020 with a nice play from the left wing where he cut inside.



Despite the huge accomplishments, Amon did not celebrate the goal as it came against Nordsjaelland. But still, it was a great reward for his hard work to fight through the adversity.

How far Amon can go this season and what steps he can take in his career remain to be seen. Can he return to being an explosive winger? We don’t know. But he’s progressing and he’s playing. That is all good.

Also in this game, Milan Iloski subbed on for Nordsjaelland in the 87th minute for his first competitive appearance with the Danish club.

 

 

Utrecht downs PEC Zwolle

 

In the Eredivisie opener, Utrecht defeated PEC Zwolle 1-0 in a game where two Americans played but four were on the matchday roster.

Paxten Aaronson made his club debut and was strong in the win. Despite missing most of preseason with the U.S. Olympic team, Aaronson went the full 90 and had 53 touches and was 9/14 in ground duels. He also had a scoring chance just before halftime. Overall, Aaronson was a dangerous player and looks to be fitting in well.

Taylor Booth also returned from the Olympics and came into the game in the 67th with the score 1-0 but was off with his passing, completing just 2/11 attempts. Still he was strong defensively as Utrecht was pinned back defensively late, which left Booth with little room to operate.

The match, played behind closed doors, featured this disaster of a goal. 

 

There were two other Americans in this game who went unused. Rickson van Hess was unused for Utrecht and former Philadelphia Union homegrown Anthony Fontana for PEC Zwolle.

But Aaronson and Booth are two players who can likely used a strong season following the Olympics to make a push to make the full USMNT, regardless of who the coach is.

Cannon sued by Boavista

 

Reggie Cannon has a lot of problems right now. After unilaterally cancelling his contract with Boavisata (citing unpaid wages) to sign for Queens Park Rangers, Boavisata took Cannon to court. On Friday, FIFA announced a decision in favor of Boavista that made Cannon liable to his former club in the amount of just under €1.3 million. Yes, the court found that there were some unpaid wages, but they were for far less than Cannon claimed – around €50,000. The ruling left Cannon in poor financial shape and it punished Cannon severely for his contract termination.

The issue for Cannon now is whether QPR will help with the responsibility. Was there an agreement between Cannon and QPR over the responsibilities if Boavista won? Also, how will this affect Cannon mentally moving forward? Finally, is he even in the plans with QPR after this? His role at the club faded in the final months of 2023/24 and he was not part of the squad this weekend in a loss at home to West Brom.

Interest in McKenzie



Mark McKenzie was always likely to move this summer given that he reportedly refused to sign an extension with Genk and he is entering into the final year of his contract. Genk does not want to lose him on a free transfer this winter, and they're looking for something with a sale now. This past weekend we saw McKenzie linked with three Bundesliga clubs - Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, and Mainz. Mainz and Wolfsburg make more sense given that Stuttgart signed three central defenders this summer. 


Like many American players who are trying to make a move into the "Big Five" European leagues for the first time, it is just about going to a place where you can play. If McKenzie can play at Mainz or Wolfsburg, either would be fine. Wolfsburg is a bigger club, but only finished two points ahead of Mainz last season. Wolfsburg seems like an organization more unsettled at the moment. But that also can open the door for McKenzie. 

 

Championship: tough weekend for Yanks

 

Aside from Brenden Aaronson’s goal and the successful debut from Aidan Morris, it was an opening weekend for Yanks to forget in the Championship.

Lynden Gooch could be excused as he went the distance for Stoke City in a nice 1-0 over Coventry. Gooch had some nice moments, and it is good to see him playing on the wing again as opposed to right back.

But Haji Wright came into the game in the 62nd minute for Coventry and was very quiet and ineffective, despite coming off a great season. The USMNT attacker missed a big chunk of the preseason due to the Copa America.

Josh Sargent was also held in check as he was unable to get anything going for Norwich City in a dismal 2-0 loss against newly promoted Oxford United. Sargent was exceptional last season after returning from his ankle injury in December. But he was playing hurt, and it continued to affect him in the promotional playoffs and then at the Copa America. It begs the question if Sargent is now at 100%? The coming weeks are going to tell us a lot about Sargent and what to expect in the coming season.

Ethan Horvath made two saves for Cardiff City in a 2-0 loss at home to Sunderland. The goals he conceded would have required outstanding saves. He was the least of their problems. But a loss at home to open the campaign is not good.

Sheffield United posted a 2-0 win on the road over Preston North End but Auston Trusty went as an unused substitute in the win – which is not good for him after playing so much last season in the Premier League. He was not the reason the club struggled defensively in the top flight, but he was part of it. But if he wants to creep into the national team discussion, he needs to play.

Meanwhile, Duane Holmes was unused for Preston North End. Like with Trusty, it’s still early and the Championship season is very long. We will see how it goes. It will takes us a month to six weeks to see where players really stand.

 

2.Bundesliga: Enochs wins first game

 

In the 2.Bundesliga, American head coach Joe Enochs led Jahn Regensburg to its first win of the season (in the second game) with a 1-0 win over Ulm. Many are predicting newly-promoted Jahn Regensburg to be in a relegation battle this season. But Enochs would do very well to win these early season games and put that fear to rest.

Damion Downs earned the started and played 65 minutes for FC Cologne in a 2-2 draw with Elversberg. He always has a few moments of being dangerous but Downs needs to learn to be more consistently dangerous and not drift out of games for long stretches. He left the game with Cologne trailing 2-1. Cologne have not played well to start the season.

Johan Gomez played all 90 minutes of Eintracht Braunschweig’s 3-1 loss to Maof a 3-1 loss to Magdeburg on Saturday. Gomez isn’t standing out but Braunschweig is poor and has conceded eight goals in two losses to start the season.

Santi Castaneda, 19, made his second straight start for Paderborn on Saturday and went 73 minutes in a 3-1 win over Darmstadt. It’s been a great start to the season for Paderborn with six points from two games (against two good squds in Darmstadt and Hertha). Castaneda, a 2004-born winger, has gone relatively unnoticed to now being off to a strong start in the 2.Bundesliga.  

 

Belgium: Nice start for Fossey

 

Aside from the Westerlo perfect start, several Americans continue to play in Belgium.

Marlon Fossey went the distance for Standard Liege in a 0-0 draw with Mechelen on Friday. Fossey will turn 26 this month and continues his upward trajectory in Belgium after dealing with knee injuries for years at Fulham. This is his third season with Standard. His first was good, his second was a step backward but still okay. His third season is off to a strong start, and he is really effective for Standard getting forward in a right-wingback formation. He just uses his athleticism to get forward quickly, move past defenders, and create danger. While no goals were scored against Mechelen, Fossey continued to be dangerous for a Standard team that has five points from three games.

Kahveh Zahiroleslam and St. Truiden are simply in over their heads this season in the First Division. Already, they seem certain to be relegated. On Saturday it was a 6-1 loss to Antwerp and Zahiroleslam went the distance. It’s hard to say anything good about a team that has lost all three of its games and have a -11 goal differential.

Mark McKenzie is heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga and he only played mop-up minutes for Genk in a 3-2 win over Club Brugge.

 

Elsewhere: Jasson scores, CCV wins

 

There was plenty of other news to breakdown across Europe.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, George Bello went 89 minutes for LASK in a 2-1 loss at home to SCR Altach. After a MOTM performance in LASK’s opening weekend,  Bello wasn’t as effective in this one.

In the Dutch 2nd tier Eerste Divisie, Korede Osudina had a first half brace for Dordrecht in a 201 away win over Emmen. Osudina was later removed at halftime. Fellow American and Dordrecht left back John Hilton went 90 minutes and assisted on Osudina’s second goal.

In the Polish Ekstraklasa, Danny Trejo played the last 31 minutes for Korona Kielce in a 2-0 loss at home to Cracovia. Ian Hoffman made his club debut when he came on in the closing minutes for Lech Poznan in a 0-0 away draw with Rakow Czestochowa.

In Croatia’s HNL, Rokas Pukstas went the distance for Hajduk Split in a 1-1 draw Lokomotiva Zagreb. Pukstas, 19, played a role in in the buildup to Hajduk’s only goal but unfortunately for Hajduk, they conceded an equalizer on the final kick of the game.



In the Danish Superliga, Andres Jasson, 22, had a very good outing for Aalborg BK when he scored in the 39th minute of a 3-2 away win over Viborg. It was the former U.S. U-17 World Cup winger’s first goal for Aab since joining the club over the summer from NYCFC. AaB now has six points from four games. He’s been solid in the early part of the Danish.



Staying in Denmark, Jose Gallegos played the final 13 minutes for SonderjyskE in a 2-0 loss at home to Copenhagen. They trailed 0-1 when he came on. SonderjyskE have just one point from four games.

Christian Cappis was not in the squad for Brondby in a 1-0 loss to AGF Aarhus.

In Scotland, Celtic is perfect through two games to start the season. Cameron Carter-Vickers started and played all 90 minutes on Saturday in the 2-0 win over Hibernian.

In the Swiss Super League, Konrad de la Fuente played the last 28 minutes for Lausanne in a 2-0 loss to leaders Zurich. The game was surprisingly competitive until Zurich’s second goal in the final minutes.

In the Coppa Italia, Kristoffer Lund went the distance in a 1-0 win over a Parma team that was promoted to Serie A last season. Lund played left wingback in a five-back.

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