Leeds United desperately need someone to step up this season, and Joe Rodon thinks he knows who it could be.
Leeds United need a hero. The summer transfer window has given Daniel Farke a decent squad, but nobody to really step up and score the goals.
Perhaps Dominic Calvert-Lewin can be that player. But Leeds United fans are split over Calvert-Lewin and whether he has what it takes to score enough goals to keep Leeds in the Premier League.
Despite a lack of firepower, though, Farke finds his side in 12th place of the Premier League table after three games, with four points on the board, albeit without having scored from open play yet.
Up next is a game against Fulham and it’ll be a real indicator of how Leeds United might fare over the next weeks and months, with the January transfer window already looking like it can’t come quick enough for the Whites.
Ao Tanaka during Leeds United v Everton - Premier League
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Joe Rodon tips Ao Tanaka for big things at Leeds United this season
Speaking in a game of ‘fill the blank’ on the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, Joe Rodon was asked to fill in the blank of which Leeds United player will ‘produce the coldest moments’ in the 2025/26 season.
And the Welsh international said Ao Tanaka. Leeds United signed Tanaka from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer, paying around £3million for the Japanese international midfielder who featured 43 times in the Championship, scoring five and assisting twice more.
From the very start, it was clear that Leeds signed a real gem in Tanaka, who could easily go on to become a very valuable asset for the 49ers, if he isn’t already.