Ao Tanaka has been the man who has risen to the demands of the occasion in the early part of Leeds United’s season.
When the Japan international signed in the summer from second-tier German side Fortuna Dusseldorf for €3.5million (£2.9m; $3.7m), a quick look at his highlight reel was enough to provoke expectations. But few Leeds fans would have predicted the 26-year-old effectively making himself undroppable come November.
Daniel Farke has time yet before he needs to worry about a Tanaka-vs-Ethan Ampadu-vs-Ilia Gruev selection dilemma, although the most recent update on Ampadu is that he is progressing ahead of schedule from a knee ligament injury. Gruev, meanwhile, is expected to be out until the new year with a meniscus issue in his right knee, leaving Josuha Guilavogui and Joe Rothwell as vital in the ranks of central midfielders available to Farke.
When both Gruev and Ampadu were injured in the same week, Tanaka and Rothwell stepped in. The latter has impressed in a more prominent role than was planned when he signed on loan from Bournemouth in the summer, but Tanaka has been the clear standout of the pair. In his current form, and assuming Farke has the full slate of midfield options to choose from, it is hard to see how Tanaka could be dropped.
As a pair, Rothwell and Tanaka have been more creative than natural defensive midfielders Gruev and Ampadu. After a stodgy start to the season in attacking terms, Leeds became more fluid, which has coincided with the development of the former partnership.
There have still been frustrations in front of goal as teams set up to stop Leeds, notably in their 1-0 defeat to Millwall earlier this month, and the loss of fellow summer signing Largie Ramazani to an ankle ligament injury in October has also been a blow in that regard. But Tanaka continues to shine and Farke has been forthcoming in his praise, particularly in his player’s ability to contribute defensively after some reservations about his ability to adapt to the role.
Influenced by his knowledge of the 2. Bundesliga, Farke was crucial in identifying Tanaka as a target, initially in the summer of 2023. He was a signing that all departments at Leeds were aligned on when it came to the value he could potentially add to Leeds.
A man-of-the-match performance against Sheffield United and becoming Leeds’ player of the month for October were the latest steps forward in his development. After first impressing in short cameos from the bench, Tanaka has improved game by game since his first start against Norwich City in October.
There are things that Tanaka does particularly well that set him apart from Ampadu, Gruev and Rothwell. Given Guilavogui’s lack of minutes — 20 across two games since signing as a free agent last month — he has too small a sample to be compared on the same terms.
Tanaka is a progressive player and has made more successful passes per 90 minutes than the other three central players (adjusting the metrics per 90 allows a better comparison between players given their varying number of games played.) His 74.73 successful passes per 90 compared to 61.53 by next-best Ampadu show his ability to keep play ticking over. But Tanaka has not been entirely without fault while on the ball; he was lucky not to be punished against Queens Park Rangers for a clumsy pass in the second half of the 2-0.
He is also a calm head under pressure. The images below show how Tanaka can help Leeds work their way out from the back when teams choose to press high — often inadvisably, given Leeds’ strengths.
In the 3-0 win over Plymouth Argyle, as Wayne Rooney’s side pressed a long ball over the top, Joe Rodon headed down to Tanaka. He played a one-two with Sam Byram as three Plymouth players closed in before calmly offloading the ball back to Rodon again to extinguish any danger, allowing Leeds to reset.
While Ampadu and Gruev lead metrics in the defensive stats — such as aerial duels won (Ampadu is the best per 90 minutes with 2.74; Gruev, 1.29; Tanaka ranking lowest at 1.04) and tackles won (Gruev, 1.73; Ampadu, 1.61; Tanaka, 1.39) — by eye, Tanaka has improved in the defensive-midfield role.
Tanaka fulfils this position’s requirement differently from Ampadu and Gruev, relying more on his reading of the game than aggression to cut out danger.
He leads his counterparts when it comes to interceptions per 90 minutes (1.5, the highest; Gruev next-best on 1.44) and recoveries, defined by Opta as a player recovering the ball when neither team is in possession or when passed to by an opponent, with 7.17 per 90. Ampadu is next on 4.83.
That Ampadu and Tanaka lead in many complementary metrics points to their potential to make a well-balanced midfield pairing once the Leeds captain is match fit again.
Ampadu is capable of creativity from the deep-lying role and often sends raking passes into the front line, but Tanaka’s ability in the final third gives him an extra edge too. He has attempted more dribbles than his central-midfield team-mates with 0.81 per 90 (Ampadu and Rothwell are joint next-best with 0.48) and his vision in the final third creates chances.
The images below show a chance Tanaka created for Joel Piroe against Watford after receiving the ball inside from Byram…
His vision at the top of the box means he executes the right ball to pick out a team-mate in a busy 18-yard box. In this instance, Piroe turned his shot just over the bar.
A similar example against Bristol City demonstrates Tanaka’s ability to deliver the right pass into the area. These stills show Tanaka recycling possession before finding Byram for a free header at the back post. As Leeds were forced back, Tanaka passes to Jayden Bogle for a one-two before spotting Byram…
It’s perhaps no surprise that Tanaka leads Leeds’ central midfielders for successful crosses from open play (0.31) per 90 minutes.
Instead of just proving himself a capable deputy to either Ampadu or Gruev, Tanaka is emerging as a challenger for their starting role. Should Leeds achieve promotion to the Premier League this season, Tanaka’s quality in the centre of the pitch may just prove key.
