Leeds United have their eyes on automatic promotion to the Premier League in the final eight games of the season. They are being run close by Sheffield United and Burnley, but they have been tipped to get the job done before the end of the campaign. The Whites are expected to overhaul their squad if they get promoted but one player has been backed to take to the Premier League like a duck to water.
Daniel Farke and the Leeds United recruitment team did an excellent job of retooling the squad last summer after they suffered the playoff final heartbreak last season.
Leeds lost three of their most important players in the summer transfer window but they didn’t panic and brought in players who have made a real difference this season.
The Whites are more of a team this year compared to last season and it is down to the recruitment they carried out in the last summer transfer window.
And Ao Tanaka has been the signing of the season in the Championship given how much he cost Leeds and what he has delivered on the pitch for the Whites.
Leeds United star looks ahead to the Premier League
Tanaka has been one of the influential players for Leeds this season and it could be argued that he has been the best player of the division since he broke into the starting eleven at Elland Road.
A box-to-box midfielder by trade, the Japan star seamlessly transitioned into a defensive midfielder to suit Farke’s system and has been nothing short of brilliant.
He is enjoying the adulation he has received in Leeds since his arrival but insisted that he still needs to improve as a footballer to take his game to the next level.
Tanaka, by his own admission, conceded that he still needs to understand how to remain focused while playing three games in a week and insisted that he has already been considering how he will play in the Premier League.
“I am very happy to be well received in the UK, but I feel that I still have a lot to improve”, Tanaka was quoted as saying by LeedsUnited News
“I still have to avoid mistakes as much as possible when playing three games a week.
“I have also been thinking about what I can do after being promoted to the Premier League.”
A superstar in the making
It is a shock Tanaka escaped the vigilant eyes of more resourceful clubs looking for midfielders last summer and Leeds somehow signed him for a fee of £3m from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
He has been the player of the season for Leeds in many ways and will play an important role in ensuring the Whites are in the Premier League next season.
Leeds will likely move on several players if they get promoted as they will be deemed not good enough for the top flight but Tanaka won’t be one of them.
Can you name the missing player from these 10 famous Leeds United photos?
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He is one of the very few players in the Leeds squad who seem primed to perform in the Premier League next season if the Whites get promoted.
Tanaka has looked more like a £45m midfield than one who just cost £3m last summer and if he develops further, the Whites have a potential Premier League superstar in their ranks.
