Leeds United have had several players who have stood up this season to push the Whites towards securing automatic promotion this season. However, one player has been a constant since he broke into the team and is widely regarded as one of the best in the Championship this season. As we approach the business end of the season, the praise for him has not stopped pouring.
Daniel Farke and the recruitment team at Leeds United deserve immense credit for the way they reconstructed the team following their Championship playoff final defeat.
Leeds lost three big players last summer but the club brought in personnel who have made a big impact on their season and has been pivotal in bringing them to a stage where they are favourites to earn automatic promotion with eight games remaining in the campaign.
One such player is Ao Tanaka, who is widely regarded as the best midfielder in the Championship but very few knew about him when Leeds signed him from Fortuna Dusseldorf last year.
Ao Tanaka is the driving force behind Leeds United this season
Tanaka’s performances have been key in the middle of the park for Leeds, especially in a season where Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu have struggled with injuries.
Former Premier League star Lee Hendrie praised the Japanese and insisted that the midfielder’s integration into the team despite this being his first year in English football is astonishing.
He stressed that Tanaka has done brilliantly to deal with the expectations of being a Leeds player while being a real driving force for the team in the middle of the park.
“I always look at players who come into a league in their first season, and Ao Tanaka at Leeds, the centre-midfielder, has come into a club of that build and expectation levels and he has literally gone straight into the team and fit in really, really well”, Hendrie told the Football League World.
“He’s been outstanding when I’ve seen him this season. It’s a big call when you go to a football club with a level of expectation, and you come with a certain expectation to an extent, but then it is about fulfilling that, and he’s been absolutely brilliant.
“I think he’s been one of their outstanding players, particularly when they’ve had injuries in that midfield area. Both himself and Joe Rothwell have really stood out, but Tanaka every time I’ve watched him, he’s got great ability, he can drive it forward and he’s been a real driving force for Leeds.”
A Premier League superstar in the making
Tanaka is one of the very few players in the current Leeds squad who seem ready to play in the Premier League if they get promoted at the end of the season.
The midfielder, who recently helped Japan qualify for the 2026 World Cup, has already talked about playing Premier League football in the near future.
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Leeds have also been warned that the only way they can hold on to Tanaka this summer is to ensure they get promoted to the top flight in the coming months.
The 26-year-old’s game seems suited to the intensity of the Premier League and he won’t look out of place against the top midfielders in the next level.
If his development continues on this trajectory, Leeds have a real budding Premier League superstar on their hands and they need to get promoted to keep him at Elland Road.
