Leeds boss Daniel Farke has been privately tipping one member of his squad to play an important role long-term, but he's now thinking about leaving Elland Road.
Leeds battle Championship drop as key summer awaits
Seven games, four points. Two and a half weeks until they play again.
Leeds United players huddle before the match
Leeds United players huddle before the match
That is the reality facing Farke and Leeds as the international break offers a rare moment of stillness in what has been a relentlessly tense first season back in the top flight.
The Whites sit 15th in the Premier League table with 32 points, winless in six league games and unable to buy a goal in four of them.
Four points is a reasonable buffer above the bottom three right now — but this is a relegation battle where nothing is settled and momentum can shift in a single weekend.
Wolves and Burnley look likely to occupy two of the three relegation spots, but the scramble to avoid that third place involves Leeds, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in various states of crisis.
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Based off the last few weeks, Farke will be fully aware that his squad needs fresh impetus in the summer.
A striker is the clear priority, with Kasper Høgh of Bodo/Glimt firmly in the frame, despite Celtic's own interest.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has bagged 10 Premier League goals, but questions remain about whether he can be relied upon as the primary source of goals long-term.
Leeds are also believed to be targeting Southampton star Finn Azaz after his scintillating campaign in the Championship, but face competition from Brighton.
Finn Azaz
More broadly, the club is in a genuine position of ambition for next season if they survive, with the 49ers' investment and a Red Bull partnership fuelling serious financial momentum behind the scenes.
But with outgoings as important as incomings, the future of one of their most decorated recent signings has suddenly come into sharp focus.
Leeds star Ao Tanaka could now push to leave this summer
Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke reports that Ao Tanaka is weighing up whether to push for a summer exit after finding himself increasingly peripheral under Farke's preferred setup.
Farke is privately tipping Tanaka to play a key role in the club's long-term plans, and he has no desire to sell him, though the 27-year-old's lack of conistent chances has pushed him further towards the exit door.
Ao-Tanaka-Leeds (1)
The Japanese international was one of the standout players of Leeds' promotion-winning Championship campaign, missing just three league games and finishing with seven goal involvements to earn a place in the EFL's Team of the Season.
He also collected the Players' Player of the Year award from his own dressing room — as resounding a stamp of approval as a footballer can receive.
However, the Premier League has been a different story.
Tanaka has started just seven of his 21 league appearances, finding the pairing of Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach virtually impossible to break into.
Stach in particular has been exceptional — arguably Leeds' best player across the campaign — and Farke's switch to a 3-5-2 formation has seen Brenden Aaronson take up the attacking midfield role, pushing Tanaka even further down the pecking order.
Just two goal involvements across the entire Premier League season tells its own tale.
Ao-Tanaka-Leeds
Crucially though, sources indicate that Tanaka is choosing to put those exit thoughts to one side for now.
Survival is the only thing on his mind at this point, and the midfielder is fully focused on contributing whatever he can across the remaining seven games to help the club stay up.
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