Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka ended this past season on a high note. Despite the summer arrivals that threatened his place in the team, he came out a huge winner.
After his stellar season in the Championship, many saw him as an ‘untouchable’ ahead of the Premier League season.
However, his place in the team was taken by Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach. So Tanaka had to spend months on the bench as Farke was not willing to change the team.
Longstaff picked up an injury, and Ilia Gruev stepped up to fill the void – the Bulgarian impressed during that period.
It was after Gruev got injured that Tanaka got his chance in the lineup once again, in the last few months of the season, he was sensational. He showed why he should be a regular for next year.
Leeds United put deal for midfielder on hold
Ao Tanaka could be joined by Japanese teammate Hidemasa Morita at Leeds United next season. The veteran was linked with a move to Elland Road last year, which never materialized.
His contract with Sporting CP expires this summer, and he is expected to leave Portugal as a free agent.
Leeds is said to be his preferred destination, with Portuguese media heavily linking him with a move to Elland Road.
Now, there seems to be a complication according to reports. A Bola have reported that talks between the two parties have been slow and that no ‘decisive’ step has been taken towards an agreement.
Morita is on holiday and is assessing his options, but a move to Elland Road remains his preference.
READ MORE: Leeds United midfielder ‘expected’ to seal Elland Road exit
Club sources stance of possible transfer
When the news initially emerged towards the season, Graham Smyth of the YEP said that club sources had no knowledge of a possible deal.
In fact, the report added that Leeds United were not looking at players of Morita’s profile when it comes to age or skillset. This raised a lot of eye brows considering how Portuguese media claimed it was basically a done deal.
The word from Elland Road is that the club were still identifying their top targets ahead of next season, and expected most transfer deals to take place after the World Cup this summer.
So there seems to be contrasting information from both sides, but what remains is that Hidemasa Morita is a free agent after leaving Sporting CP.
I think his arrival or otherwise is linked to Ao Tanaka’s future at the club. Leeds have to generate some cash in transfers to keep the PSR hounds at bay. Somewhere along the line Leeds will end up selling a player or two they would rather keep bit to grow hard decisions have to be made.