Everybody wanted to see more of Ao Tanaka.
The Japan international impressed in cameo appearances from the bench against Coventry City, Burnley and Cardiff City, exciting Leeds United fans with his classy touch and ability to keep possession ticking over. It was enough to merit talk of a first start since he signed from Fortuna Dusseldorf on deadline day and he was handed that opportunity against Norwich City.
It was a testing but capable performance as Leeds took a well earned point from a 1-1 draw, sending them into Friday’s trip to table-topping Sunderland in good spirits.
Tanaka’s breakthrough into the starting team came out of necessity following the injury layoff of captain Ethan Ampadu. The Welshman is expected to be out for a minimum of ten weeks following damage to his lateral ligament in his left knee sustained in a tackle in the 3-0 win over Coventry City at the weekend.
Tanaka is his direct successor, even though the two players are different types of central midfielder with Ampadu better suited to the double pivot role within Daniel Farke’s preferred formation. It is a job Tanaka, 26, performed well after being called into action from the bench against Coventry following Ampadu’s withdrawal, shepherding the midfield unit in a comfortable home win.
The test against Norwich, however, was a different prospect. From the off, Norwich played on the front foot and brought the game to United in stark contrast to the meagre offensive threat of Coventry.
Sat at the base of midfield alongside Ilia Gruev, Tanaka performed well as he showed the same coolness under pressure and ability to find team-mates. Operating in tight spaces and finding a pass around the corner is his speciality and made for a complementary set of skills alongside the more defensive Gruev. While it is clear that, as Farke said, Tanaka will need to work on his defensive duties, he did enough to limit the flow of Norwich’s attacks through the centre.
Where Ampadu offers vocal leadership, an ability to rattle opponents and last-ditch tackles to halt attacking forays, Tanaka brought a different interpretation of the role. His reading of the game allowed him to sweep up and extract loose passes with surgical precision while tracking Norwich’s central players and limiting their options. Alongside Gruev, it made for a balanced pair as Brenden Aaronson did his usual non-stop hassling and harrying in front of them.
Despite going behind in the first half as Norwich won a penalty when Joe Rodon brought down Josh Sargeant in the area, Leeds offered creative threat through their front four. Willy Gnonto had another impressive game but United have not had the rub of the green when it comes to injuries. Gruev was forced to come off with a knee complaint after 20 minutes, providing a headache with just three days until Leeds play Sunderland, and Joe Rothwell replaced him.
Where some had been questioning if Farke’s decision to play with a defensive midfield pair in Ampadu and Gruev was stunting Leeds’ attacking threat, they now had the opposite — two players more familiar with a box-to-box role tasked with shielding the defence. Though neither looked fully comfortable, they managed their duties well enough with Pascal Struijk called into action to mop up anything that escaped Tanaka and Rothwell.
Struijk turned provider for Leeds to equalise — Gnonto received his pass, turned and fed Largie Ramazani to score in the second half. And though they kept pushing for more, a point was hard-earned.
🎯 “Ramazani with the equaliser!” pic.twitter.com/ZAeVj9bX0B
— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 1, 2024
Norwich offered little throughout the second half until a flurry in the final minutes, with Leeds limiting them to ten touches in the box in that period.
As the game wore on, Tanaka and Rothwell appeared to grow tired with wayward passes slipping into their game. This was not the ideal partnership or role for either player but they got through. Whether that will work again should Gruev’s injury require a spell on the sidelines and given Farke’s unwillingness to change his shape, is a concern. Leeds will await the outcome of an assessment on Gruev’s knee with trepidation while pondering the logic of signing two central midfield players in Rothwell and Tanaka who do not appear to naturally fit Farke’s requirements for the role.
Tanaka is a player of great potential. When fans have called for their manager to ‘free Tanaka’, it was not with the defensive midfield role in mind. For now, using players where they are best suited looks to be a luxury Leeds can not afford.
“At least it was bad enough so he could not keep going, a knee injury,” Farke said in his post-match press conference of Gruev, as reported by the YEP. “I hope it’s not too bad, we have to wait for the assessment, there will be a scan and perhaps I can tell you a bit more. It doesn’t look that great.
“I’m pretty happy that Ao and Joe Rothwell stepped up. You could feel in the second half in terms of positioning, we were a bit open to control their counters and we had more transition moments. I’m happy they delivered such a strong performance, especially Ao.”
In challenging circumstances, this is a point that Leeds will be pleased with. With tired legs and strains on their squad depth, this promises to be their toughest week of the season yet.
(Top photo: Tanaka showed poise away to Norwich. George Wood/Getty Images)
