Union Berlin Look To Add Value In Aaronson And Fofana Additions

Union Berlin is busy preparing themselves for their first ever season in the Champions League. On Sunday, the club confirmed that they had signed Brenden Aaronson on loan from Leeds United. The US men’s national team joins Union Berlin on loan without an option to buy. But Aaronson is unlikely to be the last signing as the club is also zeroing in on Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana. Both those players symbolize Union Berlin’s successful transfer policy.

“Union’s path and the success of the last few years did not go unnoticed in either the USA, Austria or England,” the 22-year-old said in a statement published on Union’s homepage. “Somehow, you always heard something about them. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I would be here and able to play in the Champions League with Union.”

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Although his market value was recently downgraded by Transfermarkt from €30 million ($33 million) to €25 million ($27.5 million), Aaronson instantly becomes the most valuable player on Union Berlin’s squad.

“Brenden’s commitment has made us very happy; he is a type of player we don’t have who will be good for our attacking game,” Union Berlin’s managing director of men’s professional football Oliver Ruhnert said in a club statement. “Despite his young age, he already has a lot of international experience and will complement our squad at a high level.”

In fact, in many ways, Aaronson is exactly the sort of transfer that has gotten Union Berlin to the Champions League in the first place. The young American became a star first in MLS (seven goals and four assists in 48 games) for the Philadelphia Union and then in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg, where he scored 13 goals and 15 assists in 66 games across all competitions.

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Then last summer, Aaronson joined Leeds United, where American Jesse Marsch was in charge. But after a solid start with the club, Aaronson managed just one goal and three assists in 40 games. Marsch was fired in the winter, and Aaronson’s playing time was reduced. Then Leeds got relegated, opening the door for Aaronson to leave the club.

At Union Berlin, the flexible midfielder is now going to look to rebuild his stock. And that could turn out to be a win-win situation for both sides. Union, in fact, loves to sign projects like Aaronson for relatively low money to both improve their on-field product and also to become a destination where players can increase their value.

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Sometimes that even works out in Union’s financial favor, as was demonstrated by Taiwo Awoniyi. Signed initial on loan from Liverpool, Awoniyi’s transfer was then made permanent for €8.55 million ($9 million) ahead of the 2021/22 season. After another strong campaign in the Bundesliga, Union sold Awoniyi to Nottingham Forest in a deal worth €20.5 million ($22 million).

Union Berlin now hopes to repeat that trick not just with Aaronson but also with Ivorian forward David Datro Fofana. According to various media reports, Fofana is now on the verge of joining Union on loan from Chelsea.

Like Aaronson, Fofana was considered a hot prospect before becoming a part of Todd Boehly’s significant investment package at Chelsea. Signed for €12 million ($13.2 million) from Molde after scoring 15 goals and five assists in the Norwegian Eliteserien, Fofana played just 68 minutes across three Premier League games for Chelsea last season.

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Although Fofana, like Aaronson, will be loaned without an option to buy, both will, without a doubt, be subject to negotiation should Union repeat last season’s success. But even if they should move on, Union Berlin’s ability to land distressed assets with huge upside has been once again on full display and is one of the major reasons for the club’s recent success in the Bundesliga.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcastand the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth