It is a sign of just how good Ao Tanaka has been that on Saturday afternoon, he endured his worst performance in a Leeds United shirt yet despite still boasting passing stats of 94%.
Tanaka was a deadline-day signing from second-tier German side Dusseldorf in the summer. A meagre £3.4m was paid for a player that had not played higher than Japan’s top tier, and Bundesliga 2.
A Japan international, Daniel Farke said he tried to sign Tanaka a year earlier at Leeds. He was made to wait for his first start, but Tanaka has since started the last 11 Championship games because of injuries.
Leeds’ October Player of the Month and Man of the Match on numerous occasions, Tanaka has excelled in the middle of the park. Farke has even nicknamed him “Tiger” Tanaka, due to his combative style of play.
Ao Tanaka’s agent shares how Daniel Farke lured him to Leeds
Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Borussia Monchengladbach, Mainz and even Everton were all linked with Tanaka in the summer. But Leeds managed to get a deal done and already, he is becoming a favourite.
Tanaka is represented by CAA Base and the agency’s Head of Germany spoke to Fussball.News this week, Marijo Knez said how Farke’s attention to detail and explanation of Tanaka’s role convinced him to move.
“Leeds explained the project to Ao Tanaka very precisely. Daniel Farke showed him that he is the type of player Leeds needs. Leeds offered him an ideal platform to develop. A look at the data also shows this.
“I have to give Farke a lot of praise. He recognized exactly what skills Ao has. That doesn’t mean German clubs didn’t recognize this potential. Move to a Bundesliga club didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”
Is Ao Tanaka the best signing made by Daniel Farke at Leeds?
Farke gets his critics but his work in the transfer window has been nothing short of sensational, even when hamstrung by problems he has had to inherit from the previous ownership and transfer teams.
Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Largie Ramazani, Joel Piroe, Ilia Gruev and plenty of other top players have arrived during Farke’s era and worked for small-ish transfer fees too. Loans have also helped Leeds.
Joe Rothwell, arguably the best loanee Leeds have had under Farke. But for just £3.4m, combined with how important he has become to this Leeds side, is quite easily the best signing that Farke has made.
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