Ao Tanaka has only played a handful of minutes for Leeds United this 2024-25 Championship season since arriving from Fortuna Düsseldorf in the summer transfer window. However, the newcomer played a more significant role on Saturday during the 3-0 win over Coventry.
The Whites outmaneuvered several competitors from top leagues across Europe, with reports indicating that Serie A club Como and Scottish giants Celtic FC were also interested in the player before he ultimately chose to join Elland Road.
The Leeds newcomer spent the last four years playing for the German side Fortuna Düsseldorf, making 95 appearances while also scoring 10 goals and registering eight assists. It will be interesting to see when his minutes go up and whether he can take advantage of this opportunity.
Nonetheless, the 26-year-old had not played more than five minutes in his three Championship appearances before Saturday’s game. That all changed as the Japanese standout played the entire second half and had the opportunity to prove to manager Daniel Farke that he should play more.
Ao Tanaka impresses against Coventry
Tanaka played 49 minutes for Leeds after he came off the bench for the injured Ethan Ampadu. The midfielder had 39 touches while completing 30 of 32 passes and recording 94 pass competition percentage. Moreover, Tanaka won three of his four duels while also having two tackles and two interceptions.
With the player receiving significant playing time, former Whites manager Neil Redfearn gave his honest take on the £3.4 million signing.
“He grew into the game, if I’m honest,” Redfearn told BBC Leeds (h/t LeedsUnited.News). “The ball for Piroe’s goal, the ball he played into Gnonto – a 40-yard pass curling into Gnonto. He showed moments where the ball came into him and it was quite combative.
“He realised he had a bit of time. He took it down, played it off simple. Those simple things are brilliant. Just brilliance. His range of passing for the third goal, it was a great ball.”
Ampadu will be out for the rest of 2024 after he suffered an injury to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and not the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Tanaka has a chance to garner more minutes, and Saturday’s contest could be the first step in showing that he’s ready for more minutes and can be a key player in the squad’s Premier League promotional hopes.
