Troy Deeney finally gets to pick Leeds gem he’s a big fan of in Team of the Week after Chelsea win
Troy Deeney named Ao Tanaka in his Team of the Week and said the Leeds United midfielder looks ideally suited to the Premier League.
Tanaka was superb in Leeds 3-1 win over Chelsea at Elland Road on Wednesday, with that win lifting the Whites out of the bottom three.
Indeed, Tanaka made history for Leeds as he became the first Asian player to score for the Whites in the Premier League.
Despite this win, the pressure remains on Leeds boss Daniel Farke ahead of facing Liverpool this weekend.
Troy Deeney a big fan of what he’s seen from Ao Tanaka
Tanaka initially struggled for starts at Leeds this season but has now become a regular and is showing his quality in the middle of the park.
The Japan international’s all-action displays can sometimes go under the radar, but he scored a sublime goal against Chelsea to ensure his performance was noticed by pundits including Deeney.
Deeney included Tanaka in his Premier League Team of the Week for BBC Sport and added: “There’s been three times this season where he’s just missed out because Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo have been great.
“Now that he’s scored and Leeds beat Chelsea and everyone has seen the high energy, the press, the street-smarts that he has.
“He plays Premier League football like he’s been doing it for 10 years. Small nuanced things like knowing when to make fouls, knowing when to use his energy to get past people.”
Mikel Merino and Phil Foden were also named in Deeney’s midfield, with Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins leading the attack.
Deeney ‘tips his hat’ to under-fire Daniel Farke
Deeney did not include any other Leeds players in his Team of the Week, but Farke was named Manager of the Week.
The former Watford player hailed the win over Chelsea as “massive” for Farke amid all the ongoing sack talk.
| Club | Period in charge | Games | Wins | Win % |
| Borussia Dortmund II | November 2015 – May 2017 | 56 | 29 | 51.79 |
| Norwich City | May 2017 – November 20121 | 208 | 87 | 41.83% |
| Krasnodar | January 2022 – March 2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Leeds United | July 2023 – Present | 119 | 65 | 54.62 |
Deeney added it is a “massive tip of the hat” that Leeds were better than Chelsea in every department – as admitted by Enzo Maresca – in their biggest win since returning to the top flight.
Farke, Tanaka and every Leeds player now need to follow up that performance when Liverpool visit Elland Road on Saturday evening.
Three more points in that one and Farke will surely have done enough to kill off the sack talk for a little while longer yet.
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