Ao Tanaka exit verdict emerges as ‘everyone has price’ at Leeds United
Ao Tanaka had a remarkable first season at Leeds United.
The Japanese midfielder was picked up for £2.9million from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer and emerged as one of the best players in the Championship.
He looked like a Premier League star in the making, and he will now get the chance to test himself at the elite level after Daniel Farke’s side secured promotion.
Tanaka tipped to stay amid Leeds exit rumours
Arsenal and Crystal Palace legend Ian Wright labelled the 26-year-old as the player to watch next season and hinted at an exit shortly.
However, iconic commentator Ian Darke believes that the Elland Road outfit will not be in a rush to sell their star man.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, he said: “I would be surprised, really, having got promotion and you know being very comfortable and appreciated at Leeds, I would be a little bit surprised if they allowed him to slip away.
“Everyone has his price, but I would have thought he was certainly a player that they would want to keep on board.
“Like most of them at Leeds, the question is can they cut it in the Premier League, because most of the teams who have come up recently, if you look at Ipswich’s team, there was a lot of players who had come up from League One with them, played in the Championship and were not quite at the level.
“Good players, but not quite at the level where they could cut it in the Premier League.
“That is the kind of tough decisions that the manager and the recruitment team at Leeds have got to go, and they will be doing that right now, going through the squad with a fine-tooth comb and saying ‘what do we need?’
“Is he going to be good enough? Is he going to be good enough? Making decisions accordingly.”
Leeds should not sanction Tanaka exit
This summer promises to be a busy one in LS11 as the 49ers back Farke to improve his squad ahead of their survival bid.
To have any chance of staying up, the Whites need to keep their strongest players, of which Tanaka is definitely one.
There is absolutely no world in which they should allow him to leave, his departure would leave a gaping hole in the engine room and be another problem to address in the market.