Ao Tanaka outlines Leeds United wish he hopes to achieve 'as soon as possible' after claiming award
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Ao Tanaka hopes to reward Leeds United supporters with a goal ‘as soon as possible’ after winning October’s Player of the Month award.
Summer signing Tanaka enjoyed an excellent month, playing every available minute as Leeds went unbeaten in five, including a dominant 2-0 win over Sheffield United and hard-fought points at Norwich City and Sunderland. The Japan international could have been named Man of the Match in all of those matches and won a massive 54 per cent of the monthly vote, placing him way beyond his closest challengers Largie Ramazani (11%), Joe Rothwell (8%) and Willy Gnonto (7%).
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Hide AdCircumstances have forced Tanaka to play in a more defensive role than he did at previous club, Fortuna Dusseldorf, with the 26-year-old covering for injured pair Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev while Joe Rothwell pushes forward. But that more attacking role will surely be his once club captain Ampadu is back and that will hopefully give licence to a goal or two.
"I'm really happy to get this award on a personal level, but the most important thing to me is that we get the three points in every game,” Tanaka told LUTV after picking up the award. "I can't thank my teammates and the coaching staff enough, they have been a massive support since I arrived and are always helping me.
“I'm really appreciative of their guidance and they're the reason why I've managed to get this award. [The fans] have been great and I want to score a goal as soon as possible for them."
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Hide AdTanaka is expected to continue in that more defensive role for the foreseeable future, with Ampadu still a long way from being fit having suffered a serious knee injury during the 3-0 win over Coventry City in September. The Welshman was initially pencilled in for a January comeback but Daniel Farke has since revealed cautious optimism of a slightly earlier return.
The form of Tanaka and Rothwell has fuelled debate as to whether Farke should change things but club captain Ampadu will surely come straight back in, with the former given freedom to push forward. That role allowed the £3.5m summer arrival to register seven goals for Fortuna Dusseldorf last season, a big factor in Leeds’ decision to sign him.
For now though, Leeds fans will just be hoping Tanaka can return from international duty unscathed ahead of the all-important festive fixture schedule. The midfielder is one of a handful of first-team regulars away on international duty over the next fortnight.
Japan have two World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia and China to look forward to, the latter being at midday UK time on Tuesday, November 19. Leeds are next in action at Swansea City a week on Sunday, allowing Tanaka more time to recuperate than last month, when he returned around the same time for a massive Friday night clash at home to Sheffield United.