Rolando Aarons

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Rolando Aarons
Newcastle United vs Watford, 19 September 2015 (17).JPG
Aarons with Newcastle United in 2015
Personal information
Full name Rolando Aarons [1]
Date of birth (1995-11-16) 16 November 1995 (age 28) [2]
Place of birth Kingston, Jamaica
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [3]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Celje
Number 17
Youth career
2009–2012 Bristol City
2012–2014 Newcastle United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2021 Newcastle United 22 (2)
2018Hellas Verona (loan) 11 (0)
2018Slovan Liberec (loan) 12 (0)
2019Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 9 (1)
2019–2020Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 10 (1)
2020Motherwell (loan) 6 (0)
2021–2023 Huddersfield Town 11 (0)
2022Motherwell (loan) 2 (0)
2024– Celje 3 (0)
International career
2014–2015 England U20 5 (2)
2022 Jamaica 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:54, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Rolando Aarons (born 16 November 1995) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a winger for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Celje. He has had previous loan spells with Hellas Verona in Italy, Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic and Scottish club Motherwell, and in England with Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers.

Contents

Club career

Newcastle United

Aarons joined Newcastle United in 2012 after being released by his home town club Bristol City. [4] He made his reserve team debut on 8 February 2013 against Stoke City and scored in his second reserve game against Crystal Palace 17 days later. [2] [5]

Aarons travelled with the Newcastle squad to their game against Fulham. He was not included in the matchday squad as the Magpies lost 1–0. Reserves teammate Ľubomír Šatka also travelled with the squad for the first time.

On 1 April 2014, Aarons signed a professional contract with Newcastle United. [6]

2014–15 season

Aarons had an impressive pre-season prior to the 2014–15 season, scoring one goal and creating one assist in the 2014 Schalke 04 Cup against Bundesliga team Schalke. Shortly after, he was allocated the number 16 shirt. [7] On 17 August 2014, he made his Premier League debut in their first match of the campaign, replacing Yoan Gouffran for the final 16 minutes of a 2–0 home defeat to Manchester City. [8] He scored his first senior goal in the 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace on 30 August. He also set up teammate Mike Williamson for Newcastle's third goal in the same match, striking the post with his own effort. His contribution to the match was described by The Guardian as "thrillingly incisive". [9] Aarons came back from England U20 duty with a hamstring injury; scans in mid-September determined that it would take around six weeks for the injury to heal. [10] On 29 October, Aarons returned from injury to score his second goal for the club in the fourth round of the League Cup, opening the scoring in Newcastle's 2–0 away victory over holders Manchester City. [11] In early November, Aarons suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury, ruling him out for another month. [12]

Loans

In 2018, Aarons spent time out on loan with Hellas Verona under Fabio Pecchia, Benítez's former assistant at Newcastle, and Slovan Liberec. [13] After 13 appearances in all competitions for the Czech side, he returned to Newcastle in December 2018. [14] On 31 January 2019, deadline day for the winter transfer window, he signed for Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season. [15]

Aarons signed for Wycombe Wanderers on 2 September 2019 on a short-term loan. [16] The loan spell came to an end on 12 January 2020. [17]

On 31 January 2020, Aarons moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell for the remainder of the season. But on 31 May 2020 Aarons's loan spell ended with the Scottish outfit. [18]

Huddersfield Town

On 7 January 2021, Aarons signed for Huddersfield Town on a two and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee. [19] [20] He made his debut for the club two days later in a 3–2 FA Cup Third Round loss to Plymouth Argyle, coming off the substitutes' bench to replace Pat Jones. [21] A week later, he made his Championship debut for Huddersfield, playing 62 minutes in a 2–1 defeat to Watford, before being replaced by Jones. [22]

Motherwell (loan)

On 30 August 2022, Aarons returned to Motherwell on loan having spent time with the club in 2020. [23] On 2 November 2022, his loan was cancelled due to injury. [24]

Celje

On 8 January 2024, Aarons signed for NK Celje as a free agent. He made his debut against Dinamo Zagreb on 13 January 2024, which Celje lost 2–0 to Dinamo Zagreb.

International career

Aarons is eligible to represent either England or Jamaica at international level. [25] In August 2014, he received his first call-up to the England U20 team, marking his debut with the opening goal in a 6–0 friendly match win over Romania on 5 September. [26] [27] His club manager Alan Pardew confirmed that, despite interest from Jamaica, he intended to pursue an international future within the England set-up. [28]

In May 2022, he received his first call-up to the Jamaica squad for their CONCACAF Nations League fixtures against Suriname and Mexico. [29] He would make his debut as a substitute against Suriname on 7 June 2022 at Kingston National Stadium.

Style of play

Aarons operates on the outside of midfield or as a winger, usually on the left side. He is left-footed and known for his injections of pace and technical ability. [30] He has been compared to Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling in his playing style and in his descent; both are Jamaican-born English players. [30]

Personal life

Aarons was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and migrated to England at the age of five to join his mother, who was living in Bristol. [31] He is the cousin of former Norwich City and current Bournemouth player Max Aarons. [32]

In April 2018, Aarons arrived to the Newcastle Crown Court due to violent disorder; he pleaded guilty and was given a 10-month suspended sentence and ordered to do 100 hours of community service. [33]

Career statistics

Club

As of 9 March 2024 [34]
Club statistics
ClubSeasonLeague Domestic Cup League Cup OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newcastle United 2014–15 Premier League 41002162
2015–16 1010010111
2016–17 EFL Championship 40001050
2017–18 Premier League40001151
2018–19 00000000
2019–20 00000000
2020–21 00000000
Total222005200274
Hellas Verona (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 11000110
Slovan Liberec (loan) 2018–19 First League 12010130
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2018–19 EFL Championship91000091
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2019–20 EFL League One 101100021132
Motherwell (loan) 2019–20 Scottish Premiership 60210081
Huddersfield Town 2020–21 EFL Championship1000000100
2021–22 10000010
2022–23 00000000
Total110000000
Motherwell (loan) 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 20100030
NK Celje 2023–24 Slovenian PrvaLiga 30000030
Career total864515221988

International

As of 15 June 2022
National TeamYearAppsGoals
Jamaica 202220
Total20


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