owards the end of the summer deadline, Leeds United were desperate to bring in new midfielders and eventually settled with both Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara – but could have easily brought in Ao Tanaka.
Tanaka, 25, had impressed at Dusseldorf and for Japan at the Qatar World Cup. But with the German club sitting in the second division, an exit was always likely. However, he has remained at Dusseldorf.
That is not without Leeds trying. Indeed, Bild claimed in August that Leeds made an offer of £3.2m for his services. But we went with Finland and Bulgaria stars Kamara and Gruev – costing around £10m.
Since that interest in Tanaka, the Japan midfielder has endured a difficult time in Germany. His form with Japan has been a stark contrast, scoring in a 4-1 win over Germany in September. An incredible result.
Then, captaining Japan in a 4-2 win over Turkey. The September break could not have gone better for Tanaka. But at Dusseldorf, it has not gone to plan. Since our interest, Dusseldorf have played six games.
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