The Leeds United supporters could find themselves cheering on a very different team when Daniel Farke’s side face off against Hull City in their first Championship clash post-transfer window.
Largie Ramazani, the £10 million arrival from Almeria, should be in Daniel Farke’s squad when The Tigers come for tea on Saturday afternoon.
Manor Solomon, the Tottenham Hotspur loanee with an impressive track record in the Champions League adorning his CV, should also be in line for a Leeds United debut.
Further additions could be on the way too with Freiburg’s Roland Sallai linked and Burnley benchwarmer Manuel Benson keen to swap Lancashire for West Yorkshire, HITC understands.
And it’s not just wingers and forwards Leeds are after either.
HITC have now been told that Leeds are in talks to sign Japan international Ao Tanaka in a potential £4 million deal from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Leeds United close in on £4m Ao Tanaka deal
The all-action midfielder – heavily linked with Farke’s side back in 2023 as well – could be a little expensive as far as wages go. But talks are progressing nicely, with Leeds now closing in on an agreement with the Bundesliga.2 outfit.
In a further hint that Tanaka could finally be on his way to Elland Road, BILD report that Tanaka was conspicuous by his absence as the rest of the Fortuna Dusseldorf squad took to the training pitch on Wednesday.
There is no suggestion of an injury or anything unprofessional. Tanaka has not gone on strike at Fortuna and he has been nothing but dedicated to the cause all the way through the summer.
BILD also claim that Farke – the former Borussia Monchengladbach and Dortmund reserve coach – has put out feelers to the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit to make Leeds’ interest known.
Usually, when a player is absent from training ahead of a potential departure, that means his current employers are keen to avoid an injury which could scupper the transfer.
HITC have also been informed that there is no release clause in Tanaka’s contract, with Leeds expected to stump up £4 million.
On the back of a career-best goalscoring season – he found the net eight times in 2023/24 – the former Kawasaki Frontale man should provide some much-needed attacking thrust to a Leeds midfield which was high on control last season but short on final-third quality.
“Tanaka is somewhere in between (an attacking and a defensive midfielder), going box to box and emerging as an on-field leader like Borussia Dortmund’s England international Jude Bellingham,” the official Bundesliga website wrote back in 2022, highlighting the 25-year-old’s ‘rasping’ shots as a particular threat.
“Tanaka looks to clean up from deep and get forward whenever possible.”
Daniel Farke’s side step up transfer charge
Interestingly, Leeds appear to have shifted their focus towards Tanaka after submitting a £3.3 million bid for Dejan Ljubicic – who also plays in Germany’s second tier with Koln – earlier in the window.
Ljubicic appears to be in no rush to leave the Cathedral city, despite suffering relegation last term.
“They hope to get Tanaka over the line ahead of Saturday’s game against Hull City,” former Elland Road favourite Carlton Palmer tells Football League World, keen to see Leeds bring in further midfield additions after the departures of Archie Gray and Glen Kamara.
“Leeds United definitely need to bring in more reinforcements having lost the quality of player they have, and Daniel Farke has said that, but he has also said he isn’t going to panic about bringing players in.
“He needs to bring the right calibre of player in to play the way that he wants to play.”
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