Brenden Aaronson shares what he has noticed about Leeds United favourite Ao Tanaka in the last few weeks

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Ao Tanaka finally did something he has not done in a Leeds United shirt on Tuesday night, and that was to produce his first goal involvement as he laid on an assist for Brenden Aaronson.

A 12th Championship win of the season saw Leeds return to the top. Incredibly, Leeds have the same points (41), the same wins (12), the same draws (5) and the same losses (3) compared to last season.

The difference compared to last season though, is that Leeds currently sit top at least until Sheffield United play against Millwall on Wednesday night. Last term, Leicester and Ipswich were well ahead.

Indeed, Leicester were eight clear and Ipswich were seven ahead in second. With Leeds top, Michael Bridges is “excited” even if Wilfried Gnonto says the Leeds squad are not considering promotion yet.

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Ao Tanaka praised by Brenden Aaronson after Leeds assist

With Leeds leading 2-1 and looking to see the game out, Tanaka latched on to a pass from Dan James and instead of shooting, he squared the ball to Aaronson for his fifth goal of the 2024-25 season.

Speaking to LUTV after the game, Aaronson paid tribute to Tanaka and the Japan star’s form for Leeds since he came into the side after injuries to midfield duo Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev in September.

“Honestly, I wanted to take it at first but I knew Ao was in a better spot than me so I let it go. Then it’s about getting equal with the ball, so it’s easy for a tap in,” the USA star said, when discussing his goal.

“Credit to Ao, he’s been so special these last few weeks and he’s helped us a ton. You can see the kind of selfless player he is, it’s rewarding getting a goal. I will [get Tanaka a Christmas present],” Aaronson said.

Ao Tanaka is the Championship’s fourth-best player so far

It is difficult to say which player is categorically the best. Tanaka is up there in terms of midfielders, with Tanaka earning the nickname Tiger from Daniel Farke in reference to James Bond’s You Only Live Twice.

But if there is one way to judge, it is FotMob’s overall rating. It is based off all of the stats, with Tanaka becoming renowned for his passing, his footballing intelligence and his combative style of midfield play.

On Tuesday night he showed efficiency in the final third, too. He could have easily been selfish and tried to score himself but he realised Aaronson was in a better position and did the right thing by squaring it.