Leeds United are thought to be in advanced talks to sign a goalscoring midfielder for Daniel Farke, according to a new report.
Midfielder wanted at Leeds before deadline
Manor Solomon became the club’s sixth signing of the summer recently, joining Joe Rodon, Joe Rothwell, Alex Cairns, Jayden Bogle and Largie Ramazani at Elland Road. The Israel international joined on a season-long loan from Tottenham and looks set to help fill the void left by Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter.
However, after losing a number of star players over the course of the window, including midfielders Archie Gray and Glen Kamara, another addition has been wanted for a number of weeks alongside Rothwell.
Farke said during Leeds' pre-season tour of Germany last month that a new signing in the middle of the pitch is wanted: “Overall we have lost two really good midfield options with Archie Gray and also Glen Kamara. We brought in Joe Rothwell, also a pretty experienced player and also good in possession, can chip in with goals and great set-pieces.
“So happy so far, but especially in the central position we won’t fall asleep until the window is really closed. And yes, definitely. In many positions we are already more or less done in our planning but it’s definitely one of the positions where we could do perhaps also with a new addition.”
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A number of targets have been linked, including Koln’s Dejan Ljubicic and Sheffield United’s Gus Hamer. The 49ers Enterprises appear to have pulled out of the race to sign Ljubicic, whereas a £13m bid for Hamer was rejected by the Blades. That appears to have led Leeds back to a 2023 target.
Leeds in advanced talks to sign Ao Tanaka
According to Football Insider, Leeds are in advanced talks to sign Ao Tanaka from Fortuna Dusseldorf in the final days of the window. The report states that the 25-year-old is keen on a move and that he has a release clause in the region of £2.65m.
The Japan international is also out of contract in under 12 months time, so it looks as if a transfer to Elland Road could go through before the deadline.
Tanaka can play as a holding, central or attacking midfielder, as per Transfermarkt, so would offer plenty of versatility to Farke’s options alongside Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Rothwell.
Stats
Per 90
Percentile vs midfielders
Goals
0.28
Top 3%
Non-penalty goals
0.28
Top 2%
Goals & Assists
0.40
Top 6%
Pass completion
87.9%
Top 12%
As can be seen, Tanaka has an eye for goal from midfield compared to his positional peers, scoring 28 goals during his career for club and country, so he could be a shrewd pick up before Friday.