Ao Tanaka may have taken to life at Leeds United like a duck to water but, in truth, the biggest challenge is still to come.
Marcelo Bielsa transformed Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling, Gianni Alioski and Jack Harrison into some of the most reliable performers in the Premier League during that stunning 2019/20 return to the big stage.
Only time will tell whether Daniel Farke – relegated in his first top-flight season and sacked early in his second – can repeat the feat with Joe Rodon, Joel Piroe, Ilia Gruev, Jayden Bogle and the aforementioned Ao Tanaka.
Farke nicknamed Leeds’ Japan international ‘The Tiger’. And that feels like a pretty fitting moniker, given the way Tanaka sinks his teeth into opposition midfields on a weekly basis. The £3 million summer signing from Fortuna Dusseldorf has to come to represent one of Leeds United’s finest pound-for-pound additions in recent memory.
He is adding goals to his game too. Crucial ones, at that. Shortly after his wonderful looping header saw Leeds secure a statement win at title rivals Sheffield United, Ao Tanaka rattled home a ‘wonderful’ strike to see off Millwall at Elland Road.
He may have been a little short of his usual sky-high standards as Leeds dropped points away to Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers over the last week, but Tanaka still jets out to Japan with confidence coursing through his veins.
Ao Tanaka looks ahead to Premier League challenge at Leeds United
Japan face Bahrain and Saudi Arabia during this month’s Asian World Cup qualifiers.
And, speaking to the media back home, Tanaka is delighted with the way his England story has started, even if there are a few chapters still to be written.
“I am very happy to be well received in the UK, but I feel that I still have a lot to improve,” Tanaka explains, knowing that he will have to step up again should top-flight football return to West Yorkshire in 2025/26.
“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.”
Tanaka not yet the finished article despite ‘outstanding’ Elland Road impact
Tanaka indicates that he has learned a lot under Farke. Particularly, with regards to the importance of winning his duels and keeping possession. It’s fitting that only Jayden Bogle averages more tackles per game [2.4] while he also sits fourth in the club’s pass completion charts.
“In a bad situation, the key is not to lose the ball in the first half, so that there will be more opportunities in the second half,” Tanaka explains. “Although I didn’t pay much attention to scramble before, I now feel the importance.”
Leeds United News have been informed that Leeds are in no rush to extend Ao Tanaka’s contract given that his current deal expires in 2028. However, he could still be rewarded with improved terms as a reward for his impact on and off the pitch, especially in a season in which Ethan Ampadu has struggled with two lengthy injuries.
“When you have a player like Tanaka, after the injury to Ethan Ampadu, his first season in English football…” Farke said last week. “He has been outstanding for us.”
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