Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons missed out on boss Steve Bruce’s 25-man Premier League squad in August due to the arrivals of Emil Krafth and Allan Saint-Maximin late in the summer transfer window, and he has since joined League One’s Wycombe Wanderers on a short-term loan till January.
The 24-year-old, who has made 22 league appearances for Newcastle, is in his fourth loan away from Saint James’ Park having earlier had stints with the likes of Hellas Verona, Slovan Liberec, Sheffield Wednesday, and with less than 20 months left on his current contract, it remains to be seen if he has a future with the Magpies.
Aarons joined Newcastle academy in 2012, but he could have linked up with Leeds United instead.
The winger was about to sign a professional deal with the Elland Road outfit before a Premier League scholarship offer from the Toons arrived.
“I was very close to signing for Leeds. I remember thinking, ‘Newcastle have offered a scholarship, whereas Leeds have offered a professional deal, which gives me security. But I actually want to be a Premier League player’,” Aarons told The Athletic.
“I’d dreamed of that since I was a kid, even if I didn’t think it was possible, so I chose Newcastle.”
While several injuries and circumstances have prevented the winger – who has dubbed himself the most unlucky footballer in the world – from fulfilling his potential at Newcastle, things might have been different had he joined Leeds.
Starting his career in the Championship could have been a better way for him to kick off his career, and an unavoidable sense of what might have been had he chosen the Whites instead of Newcastle surely remains.
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