£3m Leeds United star named Championship’s no.2 player this season, two teammates also feature in the top 10

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A few weeks ago, one would’ve argued that Leeds United have by far the best squad in the Championship. Now though, that’s well open for debate.

Leeds United boasted a five point lead over Sheffield United at one point this year. They’re now two behind the Blades and level on points with Burnley in 3rd after a 2-2 draw against Swansea City over the weekend.

Illan Meslier’s nightmare performance against Swansea has put a real question mark over Leeds United’s promotion hopes this season. But Daniel Farke will insist that his team aren’t good enough on the whole.

Whilst that may be true, a huge degree of blame lies with Meslier. There’s actually been a lot of bright sparks in this Leeds side this season and several individuals have really impressed the Elland Road faithful.

The likes of Dan James and Manor Solomon have proves to be key players. Joe Rothwell has been an inspired loan signing from Bournemouth and Joe Rodon has put in a commanding season at the back so far.

But none of them feature in the Championship’s top 10 players for this season.

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Leeds United star Ao Tanaka is the no.2 player in the Championship this season

An emerging report from GIVEMESPORT has ranked every player in the Championship so far this season, based on ‘quality’, ‘form’, and ‘reception’ (they write of the latter, ‘The best players are often the most talked about, what do fans generally think about each entrant?’), and Ao Tanaka comes in 2nd.

Leeds United signed Tanaka in a £3million deal from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer and he’s since become a huge fan favourite with four goals and two assists in 36 Championship appearances so far. Elsewhere in the top 10, Pascal Struijk features in 5th and Junior Firpo at 9th.

Per GIVEMESPORT’s findings, these are the top 10 players in the Championship right now…

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Ao Tanaka admission proves why he’s so good for Leeds United

£3million for Tanaka is looking like a real bargain for Leeds United. And the fact that he’s 2nd in the above list is a testament to both him and Leeds United for having the nous to pick him out from Germany and bring him to Elland Road.

On the ball, he’s so delicate and precise, and off it he works harder than anyone, boasting both attacking and defensive qualities which makes him ideal for both Leeds United and the Championship too.

But Tanaka says he can still improve at Leeds United, and it’s this mindset that sets a lot of players from the rest. Tanaka said earlier in the year: “I am very happy to be well received in the UK, but I feel that I still have a lot to improve.

“I still have to avoid mistakes as much as possible when playing three games a week. I have also been thinking about what I can do after being promoted to the Premier League.”

Promotion to the Premier League though is definitely on hold for the time being. Leeds United return to action against Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.