Ao Tanaka Bundesliga transfer update drops as Farke role at Leeds emerges
Ao Tanaka’s agent has revealed how Daniel Farke convinced him to Leeds United in the summer despite interest from Bundesliga clubs.
Marijo Knez, who handles Tanaka’s profile for the CAA Base agency, admitted that a transfer from Fortuna Dusseldorf to a Bundesliga club did not work out for him in the summer.
The agent, though, was impressed by how Farke envisioned a role for the 27-year-old in the Whites squad, thus tipping his hat to the German tactician.
“Leeds United explained the project to Ao Tanaka very precisely”, Knez told fussball.news [30 November].
“Daniel Farke showed him that he is the type of player that Leeds need and Leeds offers him an ideal platform to develop. A look at the data also shows this.
“I have to give Farke a lot of praise. He recognised exactly what skills Ao has and how he needs to use them.
“That doesn’t mean that the German clubs didn’t recognize this potential. But a move to a Bundesliga club didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”
Leeds United have Daniel Farke to thank for Ao Tanaka coup
The Yorkshire-based club forked out a sum in the region of £3million for the Japan international in the summer, but that is quickly proving to be a huge bargain [The Athletic].
He has stepped up for the team after Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev suffered serious injuries, staking a claim to the man of the match award on several occasions.
Knez is confident that the midfielder is equipped to succeed in the Premier League and everyone associated with Leeds will be hopeful that he does at Elland Road and not elsewhere.
Farke and co are strong favourites to earn automatic promotion to the top-flight, but face the risk of losing Tanaka in the next summer transfer window.
Going by the Kawasaki-born player’s current form, it would not be a surprise to see clubs come calling in the January transfer window.
The Elland Road outfit, though, are more than capable of holding onto him at least until the end of the season as they look to earn their way back into the Premier League.
In other Leeds United news, a problem area has been identified for the Whites ahead of the January transfer window.
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