Leeds United will look to get over their disappointment of losing their last two league games with a win over Norwich City on Sunday in the FA Cup and progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Daniel Farke is likely to rotate his squad this weekend as he looks to take some of his top players out of the firing line and give starts to a few squad players in the cup clash at Elland Road.
Several Leeds players are struggling to get regular game time this season, and a few of them will get their opportunity to impress in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Ao Tanaka is almost certain to start against the Canaries, and the Japanese midfielder will be desperate to show why he needs to get more minutes at the business end of the season.
Norwich could be the last chance for Ao Tanaka at Leeds United
Tanaka was the Championship’s best midfielder last season and was seen as one of the very few Leeds players who were ready-made for the Premier League.
However, things have not exactly panned out the way he would have wanted. The 27-year-old has not started a league game since the end of December and remained an unused substitute in the last six Premier League games.
He is likely to start against Norwich, and Graham Smyth believes that Leeds desperately needs a performance from the Japanese on Sunday.
The Leeds inside feels an in-form Tanaka will make a difference in the run-in and could have played a role against Sunderland.
He does not want him to feel any extra pressure, but indicated that this may well be his last chance to prove that he deserves to play more in the Premier League.
Smyth said on the Inside Elland Road podcast: “Ao Tanaka, they’ve got to get going somehow because I feel like he could be really important, if he could grasp a little bit of momentum or a little bit of form, a little bit of confidence, I think he could be huge in the run-in, particularly for games at Elland Road, like the Sunderland game.
“I can understand why he didn’t play, because he’s not been at it, he’s not been good.
“You don’t want to build it up too much because you don’t want him going into this game thinking this is my last chance saloon, if I don’t play well in this game, I’m not going to play for the rest of the season but at the same time, you want him to realise this is a big, big chance if he gets in the starting lineup, and he’s got to seize it.”
He is likely to be sold in the summer
Ao Tanaka remains a popular figure among the Leeds fanbase, and plenty of supporters still believe he could revive his career at Elland Road over the coming months.
However, the club’s hierarchy and the 49ers ownership group need to set sentiment aside and assess the situation based on what has actually happened this season.
| Competition | Matches | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 20 | 2 | 0 | 743 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 168 |
| Total | 22 | 3 | 0 | 911 |
Right now, it is hard to ignore the fact that Daniel Farke does not appear to trust Tanaka enough to even use him from the bench. With that in mind, a summer sale would seem like the straightforward decision.
Leeds could potentially more than double their initial investment, which would help their financial position and allow them to reinvest in strengthening the squad.
If the club hesitate and decide to keep him, there is also the risk that his value drops further, particularly if he continues to struggle for minutes next season.
