Ao Tanaka reveals his Leeds United Player of the Season and makes fitness admission
Ao Tanaka claimed the award in May but believes a Leeds United teammate was deserving.
Ao Tanaka believes his 2024/25 Leeds United Player’s Player of the Season award should have gone to Joe Rodon.
The Japan international was picked to claim the award by his Leeds teammates in May following an outstanding first campaign in England. Five goals in 43 league appearances helped Daniel Farke’s side win 100 points on their way to the Championship title as Tanaka quickly became a huge favourite among supporters and, evidently, others in the squad.
But the 27-year-old obviously didn’t vote for himself and speaking this summer, revealed it was Rodon who had his backing. The Welshman started every league game and missed just five minutes of Championship football last season, with Tanaka also detailing how much the defender helped him throughout.
“It was centre-back Joe Rodon,” Tanaka told GOAL Japan when asked who his 2024/25 Player of the Season was. “He played in all 46 games. I think he's the MVP. He's a really good player. And as I've said so far, you can see that playing in 46 games is really amazing.
“He wasn't captain, but he was a great leader for the team. That's why I voted for him. He can pass the ball from the back, carry the ball, and defend. Last year, it was difficult for me to build up the play without him. He would give me the ball, look after me, and help me out. He also set the line high, so I think it was a really great performance.”
Rodon has picked up where he left off last season, playing every minute of Leeds’ four Premier League games so far - he is one of just three ever-presents alongside Pascal Struijk and Anton Stach. For Tanaka, however, the first month of his 2025/25 campaign has been stop-start.
Ao Tanaka fitness admission before Leeds United injury absence
A near-constant presence in midfield last season, Tanaka picked up a knee injury during last month’s 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal and has not featured since, albeit he was on the bench against Fulham last weekend as an unused substitute. Daniel Farke explained after that defeat his midfielder picked up the issue after a first-half tackle before trying to continue.
In the Premier League especially, contact injuries are bound to happen, particularly if Leeds are to retain the physical and battle-hardened approach they’ve taken in recent weeks. But Tanaka, again speaking while away over the summer, values his ability to avoid picking up regular muscle injuries and keep himself as fit as possible.
“I think the biggest thing I've grown from is not getting injured,” the midfielder added. “Almost every player gets injured, so just not getting injured makes you more valuable as a player.
“Personally, I thought, ‘If I don't get injured here, I won't get injured wherever I go.’ External injuries are a different matter, but I thought that if I did what I was supposed to do properly, I wouldn't get injured in the muscular system or anything like that.”