Is Ao Tanaka really 'world's unluckiest man', or do Leeds United have a new issue?

Ao Tanaka may be left sweating on his Leeds United future as a starter once again.

The Japan midfielder was an afterthought for Daniel Farke at times last season.

He featured just 28 times in the Premier League for a total of 1,318 minutes, after playing a pivotal role in the Championship previously.

The 27-year-old came on for the second half in the Whites' 3-2 defeat to Wrexham on Sunday as pre-season began.

However, it did not go as planned as he gave the ball away for the Welsh side's late winner in Florida.

That has highlighted an issue with his game, that could affect his status in LS11.

What is the issue that Ao Tanaka needs to solve?

MOT Leeds News covered Tanaka's error that led to his nation's World Cup exit.

The Japanese star dallied on the ball against Brazil and it ultimately led to Gabriel Martinelli's late winner.

It appears that he has not learnt his lesson, as the same thing happened in the pre-season friendly as what happened in the tournament.

Graham Smyth claimed that he is "either the world's unluckiest man, whose errors even close to halfway seem to lead to goals, or there's an element to his game that he must iron out."

It is likely the latter as it has happened twice in a matter of weeks, and it could lead to even less game time next season, as it can't occur against Premier League teams.

Why Leeds exit may be the best outcome for Tanaka

Leeds are understood to want to sign Shea Charles, which would further increase the competition for Tanaka.

His struggle looks set to continue regardless, as he has not proven to the manager that he can cut out the mistakes, and be a reliable option at the top-level of the game.

The Peacocks ace will likely find himself behind Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Anton Stach in the pecking order at Elland Road.

One option may well be an exit, as he is not guaranteed the game time that he would like with the Yorkshire side.

It could be mutually beneficial for all parties if he was to move on, but instead, Leeds fans would love him to stay.

Whether than happens remains to be seen, but he is not the unluckiest player in the world, he just needs to be more efficient with the ball and know when to just clear his lines.

Ampadu is known for dropping into that deep role to collect the ball, and if he can do that, Tanaka is best pushing forward and operating in those gaps.

He has to change his ways or he will be left behind.