OPINION
Although Steve Bruce’s reportedly imminent appointment at Newcastle United has been largely criticised by supporters, one player who will no doubt be thrilled with the news is winger Rolando Aarons.
Aarons, 23, spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday after he was signed by Bruce in the January transfer window.
Bruce clearly got the best out of Aarons as he established himself in the Owls’ first team in the Championship, only for an ankle injury to end his season prematurely at the start of April.
While Aarons’ time at Hillsborough was only brief, it proved that the Jamaican-born winger is capable of performing well in English football and as Bruce is now set to be hired by Newcastle [Telegraph], the fringe player could be set to undergo a St James’ Park renaissance.
Five years ago when Aarons was bursting onto the scene, ex-Magpies forward Malcolm Macdonald was excited by the prospect of seeing him develop at the club.
In October 2014, Macdonald wrote on the Chronicle website that Aarons ” terrifies defenders” with pace and hailed him for his “impact” off the bench.
Newcastle fans were excited by the potential that Aarons showed at the age of 18 but five years later and he has just ended a season that has seen him play on loan at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and Czech Republic outfit Slovan Liberec.
Aarons did show glimpses of the potential we all thought we’d see him reach during his time at Hillsborough.
He made 10 appearances in all competitions for the Owls, scoring one goal and supplying one assist in the process.
According to stats by WhoScored, Aarons made 2.3 successful dribbles for the Yorkshire club and dispossessed on an average of just 1.6 times per 90 minutes in the league.
Aarons also got into the box regularly for Wednesday as he averaged 1.5 shots at goal per 90 league minutes.
He did very well at Hillsborough under Bruce’s leadership, and now that the Owls boss is said to be on his way to St James’ Par, we could see the once highly-rated youngster get another stab at being Newcastle’s next best thing.
