Ao Tanaka
Ao Tanaka has found gametime hard to come by this season. (Credit: Imago)
Saturday’s victory over West Ham was a huge milestone for Leeds United. It marked the first time in over 30 years that the club would be going to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley stadium.
The path to Wembley has not been smooth; the Whites almost dropped the ball late in the game when West Ham forced extra time. Lucas Perri, who was one of the better performers on the day, showed up and decided the penalty shootout with his saves.
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Many fringe players in the team have been given chances in the cup competition so far. Ao Tanaka has been one of them; and he followed up a solid game against Norwich in the fifth round with a goal against West Ham in the quarterfinal.
Daniel Farke opens up on Ao Tanaka’s situation
The Japanese international has found minutes hard to come by this season, which has been a surprise to many outside the club. Ao Tanaka was the star of the show last year as he immediately came in and grabbed a spot in midfield. His performances saw him named Players’ Player of the Year.
However, in this campaign, Daniel Farke has opted to trust the likes of Brenden Aaronson and Ilia Gruev ahead of Tanaka. When Farke was asked about the midfielder’s situation at the club ahead of the Manchester United game, he had this to say.
”What I’ve seen in the last few weeks is something I’m very happy about. He’s stepped up in training. Last cup game vs Norwich, he was there with a good performance, which is why he got the nod at West Ham and produced a really good performance.”
”Next is to produce this on the Premier League level. For Ao, there is no limit; he can influence our game a lot, and there is lots of competition in this position. If you want to play, you always have to train at the top level, and Ao has done this.”
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