Ao Tanaka not only won Leeds United’s October Player of the Month award but he won the Player of the Match award again on Sunday, as Leeds edged past Swansea City late on.
Such was his performance on Sunday, that Wilfried Gnonto described Tanaka as the “best player in the world”. The Japan star is proving time and time again, that he is a bargain when signed for just £3.4m.
His passing, his durability, his footballing intelligence, his combative style and relentless work rate have endeared himself with the Leeds supporters. Especially, given he has replaced the mediocre Glen Kamara.
The superlatives are running out for the former Dusseldorf player. According to the stats, Tanaka is the best-performing midfielder in England this month, winning the ball back on 31 separate occasions.
Ao Tanaka stat that has surpassed all of his Leeds teammates
But it is another stat that Tanaka produced on Sunday, that no other Leeds player has been able to match this season. The Japan star was on fire as normal, in front of the defence, mopping up messy possession.
Or, breaking down Swansea attacks. Tanaka engaged in 19 duels, an incredibly high amount for one in just one serving of 90 minutes and quite remarkably, Tanaka came out on top in a massive 14 of those.
No other Leeds player has been able to reach as high a number as 14 this season, with Tanaka proving why Daniel Farke wanted to sign him 12 months earlier from Dusseldorf. Already, a fan favourite.
Ao Tanaka’s 14 duels is above Junior Firpo and Georginio Rutter
In no criticism of this Leeds squad, you can count on one hand the amount of times a Leeds player has won more than 10 duels in one game. The first on the opening day in the 3-3 draw against Portsmouth.
| Name | Opposition | Result | Duels won |
| Ao Tanaka | Swansea City | 4-3 win | 14 |
| Junior Firpo | Sheffield Wednesday | 2-0 win | 12 |
| Georginio Rutter | Portsmouth | 3-3 draw | 11 |
| Junior Firpo | Millwall | 1-0 loss | 10 |
Tanaka continues to shine in the middle of the park. While it might have been interesting to see a few weeks ago who would start in midfield when Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev return, now it’s an inevitability.
Ampadu of course, starts. He is the club’s captain and a player that Farke relies without a second of hesitation. But there is no doubt that Tanaka starts alongside the Welshman, when all four are fit again.
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