New Leeds United midfielder's 'plug-and-play' goal threat revealed as long-awaited transfer imminent
Leeds United are set to announce the arrival of Japanese international midfielder Ao Tanaka ahead of the transfer window deadline on Friday evening.
The 25-year-old Fortuna Dusseldorf midfielder has been tracked by Leeds for well over a year with United closer than ever to getting their man.
Tanaka is understood to have flown into England on Thursday afternoon in order to undergo medical tests before officially confirming his arrival from the 2. Bundesliga club.
Fortuna, like Leeds, finished third last season, narrowly missing out on promotion back to German football's top flight with Tanaka at the heart of midfield.
During his first two seasons in Germany, Tanaka scored twice in 55 appearances across all competitions. However, last year, the Japan international scored eight across all competitions.
Shogun Soccer newsletter author and Japanese football expert Ryo Nakagawara explained to the YEP how Tanaka has developed a knack for arriving late into the penalty area to convert chances.
"He's got good intelligence and awareness that allow him to read the game well - in defence and attack - and gives him great passing range to make those 'line-breaking' type of passes.
"Further forward Tanaka has shown his ability to make late runs into the box or simply being 'in the right place at the right time' to score vital goals for club and country, especially in the past year or so," he said.
Tanaka is also said to have 'plug-and-play' capabilities as a versatile operator, particularly in the No. 8 role which Leeds have sought to supplement all summer following the departures of Archie Gray and Glen Kamara.
"Tanaka can play in variety of midfield roles: single-pivot No. 6 - albeit mostly in and for Japan but not for Fortuna - [as well as] double-pivot, and box-to-box No. 8 roles.
"Since he's so versatile, you can plug-and-play with most types of profiles that a team's midfield might have. Probably the biggest example of this was for the Japan national team during the qualification run for the 2022 World Cup; his insertion into the midfield as a 'balancer' saved their campaign," Nakagawara added.
Above all, though, the verdict from Japanese footballing circles is that Tanaka could prove a bargain for Leeds at the reported figures he is set to move for.
"The number one thing about Ao Tanaka is his fantastic technique with respect to ball control and first touch, which combined with agility/body balance, especially opening up his body to receive, let him glide around the midfield with the ball, evading pressure in tight spaces.
"I don't know what Farke's Leeds are like nor who their other midfielders are but knowing the Farke-ball that I've seen in the past I think this is a good fit," Nakagawara said.
A Tanaka transfer has been in the offing for quite some time, dating back to last summer when Leeds instead moved for Kamara and Ilia Gruev to supplement their squad late in the window. The Japan international also missed the Asian Cup in January amid speculation that a Bundesliga transfer may come to fruition whilst the national team were competing in Qatar.
The 25-year-old is expected to sign a contract with Leeds before the transfer deadline and become their seventh arrival of the summer, adding much-needed creativity and goal-scoring to the midfield options at Farke's disposal.