Everywhere you look in this Leeds United side at the moment, there are players producing some of the form of their lives and proving so once again at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.
Illan Meslier has six clean sheets in a row, while Joe Rodon is finally turning promise into proven quality at club level after Tottenham and Rennes stints. Ethan Ampadu’s return from injury has been inch-perfect.
Joe Rothwell and Manor Solomon have reignited their careers after difficult spells, while Daniel Farke said Dan James is “unplayable” right now. Joel Piroe continues to shine, having a hand in 20 goals this term.
With Ao Tanaka, his form is remarkable. This is a player that had only ever played his club football in his home country Japan and the second tier of German football, yet Tanaka has been sensational for Leeds.
Daniel Farke still not completely satisfied with Ao Tanaka
Following Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Watford, there were a few examples in Farke’s press conference where he tried to pour cool water over the excitement. He was asked about £3.4m signing Tanaka, as well.
He told reporters that he was “always confident” that Tanaka would come to English football and shine. But, he says he’s still not perfectly happy with Tanaka due to his lack of goals and assists in midfield.
“I was always convinced that he could adapt to English football. He was good today but yes I want more goal involvements. But overall he has excellent performances,” Farke said in his post-match conference.
Where does Ao Tanaka list in terms of Leeds’ goals and assists
With Ampadu and Ilia Gruev injured earlier in the season, Tanaka was tasked with playing as a defensive midfielder and that made it near-impossible for the Japan star to get his name on the Leeds scoresheet.
Leeds’ goals and assists in Championship:
| Name | Games (Starts) | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Minutes per G+A |
| Joel Piroe | 32 (22) | 1908 | 14 | 6 | 95.4 |
| Dan James | 26 (21) | 1818 | 10 | 6 | 113.6 |
| Manor Solomon | 25 (16) | 1454 | 7 | 7 | 103.9 |
| Brenden Aaronson | 32 (30) | 2566 | 8 | 2 | 256.6 |
| Wilfried Gnonto | 30 (20) | 1724 | 5 | 5 | 172.4 |
| Junior Firpo | 19 (18) | 1559 | 1 | 7 | 194.9 |
| Largie Ramazani | 21 (7) | 680 | 4 | 2 | 113.3 |
| Jayden Bogle | 30 (30) | 2607 | 4 | 2 | 434.5 |
| Mateo Joseph | 31 (11) | 1164 | 3 | 3 | 194 |
| Ao Tanaka | 29 (24) | 2172 | 2 | 2 | 543 |
But now, given a touch more license to get forward alongside Gruev, he is adding to his tally. However, nine other Leeds players have more goals and assists combined than the former Dusseldorf midfielder.
Next up for Farke, Tanaka and Leeds is Sunderland next Monday at Elland Road before an enormous tie with the Whites going up against Sheffield United. Two crucial games that could signal Leeds’ intent.
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