Max Aarons issues clarity on Leeds United u-turn as Bournemouth move nears | OneFootball

It's perhaps a surprise that Max Aarons was still a Norwich City player ahead of the first match of the 2023-24 Championship season, but with just over three weeks to go until the end of the transfer window, it looks as though the right-back is set to get his move.

There has been Premier League interest during the summer months but no concrete offers for a player who has less than 12 months remaining on his contract at Carrow Road.

But the 23-year-old will be getting his return to the Premier League after spending last year in the Championship, with Bournemouth set to sign the England under-21 international for a fee that will initially be £7 million.

Aarons wasn't always set for the Vitality Stadium though as for the last week it looked as though he may remain in the second tier of English football.

Southampton were in pole position last week according to TalkSPORT ahead of the sale of Tino Livramento to Newcastle United, but out of the blue on Wednesday it was revealed that Leeds United had agreed a deal with Norwich to take Aarons to Elland Road.

That was a move that would have brought Aarons back together with his former Canaries manager Daniel Farke, but there was more drama to come as later in the day it was revealed that he was instead on his way to sign for Bournemouth after they came in with an offer - some even claimed that Aarons walked out of a medical at Leeds to head to the Cherries.

What has Max Aarons said after making u-turn on Leeds deal?

Aarons is yet to complete his move to Bournemouth so there is no official word from him at this time, but Chris Reeve of Talk Norwich City and BBC Norfolk claims to have been in touch with the defender, who has had some comments to make regarding the whole saga.

Per Reeve, Aarons has said that it was a 'hard decision' to turn down a move to Leeds at the last moment and in-turn turn his back on Farke, who has been described as a 'father figure' to him having handed him his senior debut in August 2018.

Aarons has also refuted the claims that he walked out of a medical with United to head to the south coast to link up with Bournemouth, meaning that he was likely headed to Leeds to finalise terms before they were gazumped by the Cherries.

What next for Leeds United?

With Aarons now out of the picture, Leeds must look elsewhere in their pursuit of a right-back.

Luke Ayling started there against Cardiff City on the opening weekend of the Championship season and Sam Byram has also re-signed as cover on both sides, but it's clear that Farke isn't 100 per cent happy with his options - hence why he made a move for Aarons.

It would have been a statement signing but simply put, despite the size of Leeds as a club, the allure of Premier League football was clearly too strong for Aarons to turn down, putting United back to square one in that particular position.