Fortuna Düsseldorf midfielder Ao Tanaka has finally received some good news, having been handed the captain’s armband for Japan, something which should soften the blow of that failed move to Leeds United.
BILD cover the player today and how the Japanese international is not as well loved at club level as he in on the international stage.
Tanaka was heavily linked with a move away from Fortuna throughout this summer, having made it expressly clear he wanted out.
Leeds United were keen on his signature and appeared to be close to a deal before it all fell away on deadline day and didn’t happen.
It’s since been explained that everyone involved was disappointed by that outcome, and BILD back that up, stating that his wish to move in the summer ‘was dashed’.
They say Wednesday will have proved to be a moment of reflection for the midfielder, who trained alone in the Fortuna weight room and ‘pondered’ how he finds himself in such a situation.
The evening before he and Japan beat Turkey 4-2, a game in which he led his country out wearing the captain’s armband for the first time.
Days before he had scored the fourth goal in a 4-1 win over Germany, a huge result for his country that ultimately saw Hansi Flick sacked. That followed a path for him given he also scored the goal that knocked Germany out of the World Cup in Qatar.
Despite all of this he finds himself sitting on the bench and training alone at Fortuna, where he has so far been unable to show his potential and saw a desired summer departure to Leeds collapse as well.
The hope is that he can turn things around and ‘storm into the starting lineup’, boosted by captaining his country, an experience which has hopefully banished the negative thoughts lingering from that failed transfer to Elland Road.
