Leeds United eye repeat of 'unbelievable' £3m trick as Daniel Farke 'sends top scout' on transfer mission
Leeds United have enjoyed great recent success recruiting from Germany.
Leeds United could return to a market that has brought great success in recent years with reports Daniel Farke has sent top scouts to Germany.
With just six weeks of the season remaining and Leeds well placed to fight for automatic promotion, recruitment chiefs will be putting early plans in place for what could be a busy summer. A return to the Premier League in May would be the catalyst for a summer in which 49ers Enterprises will need to invest heavily in order to stand the best chance of surviving.
Leeds would need to get a lot right in the summer and so Farke looks to be exploring a market he knows well, with journalist Alan Nixon reporting via his Patreon page that a ‘top scout’ has been sent to Germany. Scouts are said to have been in attendance at Bundesliga matches in recent weeks as well as second-tier games, with the success of their most recent arrival still fresh in the memory.
Leeds United scouting German leagues
Farke had Fortuna Dusseldorf’s Ao Tanaka on his radar since his first summer in charge and got his man last year, with Leeds agreeing a deal worth around £3million for the midfielder. Since making his first start against Norwich City in October, the Japan international has been a revelation, barely putting a foot wrong and so often looking a cut above the Championship.
“He is technically so outstanding he has to fix the watches of the referees,” Farke said of his summer signing following November’s 4-3 win over Swansea City. “Tiger Tanaka can do everything. He is an unbelievable signing so far. He is happy to have his peace and pretends he is not capable of talking. He does not realise I am listening to him with his team-mates and he is very funny. Really cool guy.
Ao Tanaka transfer trick repeat
“The best judgement is when you see the team-mates and they have so much fun with him and celebrate with him. Quality with and without the ball is outstanding. Not played in a top league yet. Delivers like this in a shirt so heavy is outstanding. The character is relaxed and laid back.”
Tanaka is not the first player to come across from Germany since Farke’s arrival almost two years ago, with Ilia Gruev signed from Werder Bremen for around £5m in August 2023. The Bulgarian international is another who was relatively unknown among most supporters outside the Bundesliga before proving an important member of the Leeds squad over the last two seasons.
At what level Leeds can recruit first depends on how they finish the current campaign, with eight games left to fight for automatic promotion, starting at home to Swansea City next weekend. Farke’s side are top of the Championship going into the run-in and ahead of Sheffield United by virtue of a superior goal difference, with Burnley two points behind in third.
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