Popular Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka has been warned that the FA Cup fifth-round clash could prove his last opportunity to impress manager Daniel Farke, with a club expert warning he could be sold off this summer and TEAMtalk revealing the eight names who can expect a recall in Sunday’s clash.
The Japan midfielder looked one of the most astute signings in Leeds United‘s recent history after arriving in a bargain £2.9m (€3.5m, $4m) move that did hit £3.4m ($4m, $4.4m) once promotion bonuses were factored in during the summer of 2024 from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
However, Tanaka has surprisingly dropped out of favour under Farke this season, making just seven starts in the Premier League and having racked up just 45 Premier League minutes for Leeds across five appearances since the turn of the year.
Overall, across his 20 appearances in the competition this season, Tanaka has appeared for a total of just 743 minutes – significantly down on his game-time last season, where he was a vital cog in their Championship title-winning side.
Now, with the FA Cup fifth-round clash against Norwich due to take place at Elland Road this Sunday, and with a much-changed line-up expected to take the field, the 27-year-old is expected to be given a fresh chance to prove himself.
And speaking on the Inside Elland Road podcast, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth is warning Tanaka that the match could prove his ‘last chance to prove himself’ to Farke ahead of a possible summer exit.
“Ao Tanaka, they’ve got to get going somehow because I feel like he could be really important, if he could grasp a little bit of momentum or a little bit of form, a little bit of confidence, I think he could be huge in the run-in, particularly for games at Elland Road,” Smyth said.
“I can understand why he didn’t play, because he’s not been at it, he’s not been good.
“You don’t want to build it up too much because you don’t want him going into this game thinking this is my last chance saloon, if I don’t play well in this game, I’m not going to play for the rest of the season.
“But at the same time, you want him to realise this is a big, big chance if he gets in the starting line-up, and he’s got to seize it.”
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Leeds predicted line-up for the Norwich game with eight recalls
TEAMtalk sources are yet to hear of any concrete interest in Tanaka ahead of the summer window, or the player’s thoughts on his current situation.
But needless to say, after becoming a first-team regular last season to a bit-part player this season, the 35-times capped Japan international cannot be happy with his current situation.
Of course, with Leeds losing back-to-back Premier League games and with Tanaka due a recall in Sunday’s clash, he will hope to use the game against the resurgent Canaries to show Farke exactly what he is missing.
Despite there being an FA Cup quarter-final place at stake, and with Leeds looking to reach this stage of the competition for only the second time this century – the last time being 2002/03 – Farke is expected to make wholesale changes for the game.
And the Whites manager is expected to hand opportunities to nine players who have seen their minutes reduced in recent times.
In goal, Leeds can expect to see summer signing Lucas Perri back between the sticks. In defence, the likes of Jaka Bijol – unlucky to miss out in recent weeks to the in-form James Justin – can expect to feature, as can another summer signing in Sebastiaan Bournauw.
Tanaka will be an obvious candidate to come into the midfield, while one of Willy Gnonto or Dan James – both of whom came off the bench in Tuesday’s loss to Sunderland – can expect a recall on the wings.
Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha, two more subs on Tuesday, will also expect to come in.
Predicted Leeds team to face Norwich (3-4-3): Perri; Bijol, Bornauw, Struijk; Bogle, Tanaka, Gruev, Justin; James, Piroe, Nmecha.
Latest Leeds news: Stach future revelation; five painful conclusions from Sunderland loss
In other Leeds news, our sources delivered an exclusive update on the future of star midfielder Anton Stach on Thursday, revealing that the club will review his situation in the summer with regards to a new contract, though with a warning that they have a more pressing issue to focus on first.
And if you missed it earlier, that comes after we exclusively revealed the Whites’ plans around the man Farke often refers to as “our best player”, captain Ethan Ampadu.
Elsewhere, Leeds have been listed as one of the suitors in a crowded race for a 153-goal Juventus star, who could be allowed to leave this summer, according to our sources.
With the after-effects of Tuesday’s damaging loss to Sunderland still being felt, fans drew five major conclusions from the Elland Road setback, with Farke coming under fire and with concerns growing that their malaise could yet lead to relegation.
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