Ao Tanaka is set to complete a move to Leeds United in the coming hours with the Japanese star filling the midfield void at Elland Road, and Dusseldorf’s manager has commented.
The 25-year-old Japan star was in the building at Thorp Arch on Thursday with a medical and contract on the to-do list ahead of a move. It sees Daniel Farke finally sign a long-term target in the form of Tanaka.
A £3.4m fee is set to change hands with Tanaka putting pen to paper on a four-year deal until June 2028. Graham Smyth reported late on Thursday night that a move to sign Tanaka at Leeds now “sounds done”.
Leeds wanted a goalscoring midfielder after Ilia Gruev, Archie Gray and Glen Kamara managed just two goals between them last season. Of course, Gray and Kamara have since left Leeds for Spurs and Rennes.
Dusseldorf manager says Tanaka has not trained for last two days
Meanwhile, Tanaka’s current side Dusseldorf are in action on Friday night against Hannover 96. A side that Leeds beat during their summer training camp in Germany, with Mateo Joseph scoring twice in a 4-1 win.
Dusseldorf manager Daniel Thioune was asked about Tanaka’s future and a move to Elland Road. He told Kicker that Tanaka has not trained for two days and won’t play on Friday, but can’t say much more.
“Ao didn’t train yesterday and he didn’t train today [29th]. What finally happens, I can’t tell you. He will definitely not play on Friday but I don’t want to rule out that he won’t do it again in future,” Thioune said.
We spoke to Japan football expert Dan Orlowitz about Tanaka
Tanaka seems a bargain at £3.4m given his Japan league titles, his form in Germany and most notably, his eight goals in 27 caps for Japan that has seen him score a winner against Spain at the 2022 World Cup.
Leeds United News spoke to Dan Orlowitz, formerly of the Japan Times, to understand what Tanaka is all about. Among other snippets of information, Orlowitz told us that Tanaka is a good signing for Leeds.
“It’s a very good deal at £3.4m. I think he’s ready, he’s got the maturity and the physicality for it. Certainly at a club like Leeds there will be pressure on him from the fans and all that, but they can be confident.”
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