Leeds United midfielder, Ao Tanaka. Credit: Imago

Daniel Farke to be sweating over Ao Tanaka after latest Leeds United development

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior football journalist specialising in refereeing and officiating; former contributor to The Football League Paper, Late Tackle, and the Premier League; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Refereeing controversies, football finance and governance, PGMOL decisions, and officiating analysis across the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL. THE INSIGHT Harri utilises a network of officiating and industry contacts to deliver verified, expert analysis of refereeing decisions and PGMOL policy. He provides the regulatory clarity behind the controversy to ensure fans get the full picture.

Published on:

07 Nov 2024, 2:40 pm

Daniel Farke cannot afford any more long-term injuries if Leeds United are to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

The manager is already without Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Largie Ramazani, while Patrick Bamford has struggled to gain any meaningful minutes on the pitch due to injury.

While Ampadu is said to be ahead of schedule with his return from injury, it is unlikely that he will be ready to make a full comeback until the new year.

Leeds have been extremely proactive in securing reinforcements, adding free agent Josuha Guilavogui to the squad to join Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka in the centre of midfield.

Now, Farke must prepare himself for two weeks of torture as the international break approaches and all his attention will be on Japanese international Tanaka ahead of the return to club football.

Leeds United concern for Ao Tanaka after international call-up

The 26-year-old has 29 international caps under his belt so it is fair to assume that Tanaka will feature at some point over the two-week break.

Any injury to the star midfielder could be catastrophic for the Whites, even with 34-year-old Guilavogui making quite the impression upon making his debut against Plymouth Argyle.

Tanaka has been a force of nature for Leeds this season, maintaining a 91 per cent passing accuracy in the league, making 11 interceptions and creating seven chances [FotMob].

His best performance of the campaign came during the 2-1 win over Watford on 22 October, completing 93 per cent of his passes, creating one chance, making 11 recoveries and winning 78 per cent of his ground duels [FotMob].

🇯🇵 Ao Tanaka has been named in Hajime Moriyasu's Japan squad for their upcoming fixtures against Indonesia and China
— Leeds United (@LUFC) November 7, 2024

Given that he also ranks in the top 83 percentile for non-penalty goals and the top 69 percentile for assists [FBref], there are parts of the midfielder's games that fans have yet to see unleashed.

Farke will definitely be keeping a close eye on the midfielder as Leeds cannot afford to lose any more players to the treatment table at this point in the season.

In other Leeds United news, one star was spotted screaming at himself after what happened v Millwall.

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Leeds United

Daniel Farke

Ao Tanaka

Japan