Ao Tanaka: Leeds United midfielder to be immortalised as El Loco Gnome
A limited-edition figurine of Ao Tanaka has been released to mark Leeds United’s return to the Premier League.
The tribute to the Japanese cult hero Is the latest recruit to the El Loco Gnome collection.
El Loco Gnome’s creations have become a cult favourite among Leeds supporters worldwide, with customers in over 30 countries since its first release of their Marcelo Bielsa Gnome in 2020.
Since then the range has expanded to include Bielsa-era icons such as Mateusz Klich, Pablo Hernández, Gjanni Alioski, and Gaetano Berardi, as well as festive Bielsa decorations and the creators are hopeful that the Tanaka is the first in a new line of new Elland Road heroes to be to be immortalised in figurine form.
Creator, Stephen Deacon, said: “With the new season underway, you may think we are a little late to the promotion party, but we went a little bit too early last year when we released a Summerville and Rutter after the play off final defeat!
“The response to the Tanaka has been brilliant and I would like to thank everyone who pre-ordered one over the Summer and helped make this happen”.
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Each Tanaka figurine has been meticulously hand-painted in the club’s iconic yellow title-winning away kit, with each one standing at around 21 centimetres tall.
The prototype of the new release recently made a small cameo in Adidas’ official 2024/25 Leeds United away kit launch video, appearing beside club legend Mark Viduka in “The Duke” pub — a nod to Tanaka’s growing popularity among the Elland Road faithful.
The Ao Tanaka figurine is available now via: https://ellocognome.co.uk/collections/el-loco-gnome-latest-additions/products/leeds-ao-tanaka-inspired-figurine