Towards the end of the summer deadline, Leeds United were desperate to bring in new midfielders and eventually settled with both Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara – but could have easily brought in Ao Tanaka.
Tanaka, 25, had impressed at Dusseldorf and for Japan at the Qatar World Cup. But with the German club sitting in the second division, an exit was always likely. However, he has remained at Dusseldorf.
That is not without Leeds trying. Indeed, Bild claimed in August that Leeds made an offer of £3.2m for his services. But we went with Finland and Bulgaria stars Kamara and Gruev – costing around £10m.
Since that interest in Tanaka, the Japan midfielder has endured a difficult time in Germany. His form with Japan has been a stark contrast, scoring in a 4-1 win over Germany in September. An incredible result.
Ao Tanaka struggling in Germany since Leeds tabled £3.2m bid
Then, captaining Japan in a 4-2 win over Turkey. The September break could not have gone better for Tanaka. But at Dusseldorf, it has not gone to plan. Since our interest, Dusseldorf have played six games.
An unused sub during the rumours of a potential exit in a 5-0 win over Elversberg, he has only started once in the next five – Dusseldorf’s only defeat in that time, a 1-0 loss to German giants Hamburger SV.
It is unclear why he has suddenly dropped out of Dusseldorf’s starting XI. Perhaps the hope of an exit has had his head turned, and that has seen him drop out of the side. Maybe, Leeds dodged a bullet.
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