With Paxten Aaronson reportedly set to become the second sibling in his family to sign a Homegrown Player contract with the Philadelphia Union, older brother Brenden Aaronson gave his evaluation of his younger sibling during The Best Soccer Show on Sunday evening.
"I’ve seen him grow and I’ve seen the player that he is, and he’s going to be very special," Brenden told hosts Jason Davis and Jared DuBois. "And I can’t wait to watch him play more and more in these professional games. So I think for him, if he keeps working hard and doing the things he’s been doing from a young age, I think he’s going to be a really special player."
That's high praise for the 16-year-old coming not only from an older sibling but one of the most sought after young American players in the game. Germany's Borussia Mochengladbach and Scotland's Celtic FC are among those that have been linked to the 19-year-old playmaker this summer, as he has continued to emerge as the regular starter in the No. 10 role for manager Jim Curtin.
Without dealing with specific rumors, Brenden says he welcomes that attention for himself and other young Americans.
"I think in American soccer there should be a lot of hype," Brenden said. "There’s a lot of good soccer players, and everybody’s excited. I think that’s just normal. But for me I try to block that kind of stuff off."
He went on to specifically reference former New York Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams' UEFA Champions League game-winner for RB Leipzig last week, as well as Giovanni Reyna's emergence at Borussia Dortmund.
Believe it or not, Paxten may not be the end of the Aaronson pipeline. Younger sister Jaden, born in 2006, is currently a promising youth player.
"She’s turning out to be a very, very good young player," Brenden said. "I’ve been to a few of her games. She kills it every time ... . But she’s more of a winger, though, than we are."
