Towards the end of the transfer window, Leeds United tried to sign a new midfielder in Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Ao Tanaka.
There was even a deal close to being reached between all parties, but that simply never went through, much to the regret of the 2.Bundesliga side and the Japan international.
As we have covered before, his current situation isn’t great, and while it did improve at international level during the break, it only all came back crashing down this weekend when he returned to his club, as explained by Express in Germany.
He did so again in the 3-1 win over Hansa Rostock, but with the team doing so well without him, his situation is unlikely to change anytime soon.
This isn’t what the player, who came so close to a transfer to Leeds, will have wanted, as Express explain that the young midfielders that have come in have now ‘overtaken the top dogs’.
Tanaka, who was one of those, only has one role left in the squad, and that is one of a ‘reserve player’, despite him shining for his country, Japan, during the international break.
A sad state of affairs, and perhaps something Leeds could revisit in the January transfer window, as we doubt Fortuna will be against selling once more.
