Leeds United have emerged as the best team in the Championship this season according to many. The race for automatic promotion is still very tight, but the Whites have earned huge admiration for the way they got over their playoff final defeat last season. A number of players have played a big part in ensuring the Whites are in a position to get promoted but there are a few who have been the standout performers this season. Their performances have powered Leeds this season as they push towards automatic promotion.
Daniel Farke carefully reconstructed the squad last summer after he lost three of his most important players and the Leeds United boss deserves massive credit for their success.
The Leeds boss and the recruitment team brought in players who have made a major impact in the way Leeds bounced back this season and are now favourites to get promoted ahead of the remaining eight games of the season.
Farke has credited the entire squad for powering Leeds forward this term but we want to pick out three players who have been pivotal in their success in the ongoing campaign.
Ao Tanaka – the success of the Leeds United recruitment team
Leeds fans had little idea about the player when the club signed him for a fee of £3m from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer but he has been the player of the season at Elland Road. Tanaka has been the best midfielder in the Championship this season and looks ready to take the Premier League by storm. It is hard to fathom that this is his first season in English football and he has seamlessly adapted to it’s intensity and seems the best prepared to thrive in the Premier League as well. It is now being suggested that Leeds need to get promoted just to hold on to the Japanese international.
Daniel James – the durable superstar of the Leeds United team
The Welshman is one of the players who looks too good to play in the Championship and belongs in the Premier League. His pace has always been his biggest weapon but James has added an end product to his game that has made him even more dangerous. The winger has ten goals and nine assists to his name in the league this term. And most importantly, he has rarely been unavailable since recovering from a hamstring injury earlier in the season. Farke hasn’t had to worry about his right flank because the Welshman has been ever-present this term.
Can you name the season these 10 Leeds United shirts are from?
Jayden Bogle – another transfer masterstroke
Once Archie Gray left Leeds last summer it became clear the club needed a right-back and Bogle was identified as the top target. The 24-year-old’s durability has been an asset and he has missed just two league games this term. He has scored five goals and has been a constant threat in the final third while being defensively solid as a right-back. Bogle has been so good that Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has not stopped moaning about losing him to Leeds since last summer. He is also one of those players who look ready to get a crack at Premier League football if the Whites get promoted.
