{"id":44166,"date":"2026-03-07T08:40:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/leeds-uniteds-stance-on-ao-tanakas-future-revealed-after-changes-to-midfield-under-manager-daniel-farke\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T08:40:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:40:48","slug":"leeds-uniteds-stance-on-ao-tanakas-future-revealed-after-changes-to-midfield-under-manager-daniel-farke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/leeds-uniteds-stance-on-ao-tanakas-future-revealed-after-changes-to-midfield-under-manager-daniel-farke\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds United&#8217;s stance on Ao Tanaka&#8217;s future revealed after changes to midfield under manager Daniel Farke"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/leeds-uniteds-stance-on-ao-tanakas-future-revealed-after-changes-to-midfield-under-manager-daniel-farke\/#Pete_ORourke_talks_about_Aoi_Tanakas_future_at_Leeds_United\" >Pete O&#8217;Rourke talks about Aoi Tanaka&#8217;s future at Leeds United<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/leeds-uniteds-stance-on-ao-tanakas-future-revealed-after-changes-to-midfield-under-manager-daniel-farke\/#Midfield_competition_and_tactical_changes\" >Midfield competition and tactical changes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"><strong>Leeds United have no plans to sanction Ao Tanaka&#8217;s departure, according to the latest update from Football Insider&#8217;s transfer correspondent Pete O&#8217;Rourke.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">Despite lacking playing time in the Premier League recently, the Japan international remains an integral part of Daniel Farke&#8217;s side.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pete_ORourke_talks_about_Aoi_Tanakas_future_at_Leeds_United\"><\/span>Pete O&#8217;Rourke talks about Aoi Tanaka&#8217;s future at Leeds United<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Manager Pete O&#8217;Rourke emphasized that although he has not been established in the starting lineup recently, the possibility of him leaving is not zero.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Football Insider&#8217;s Transfer Insider podcast, he said:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It will be an interesting game. I still think he has a role to play at Leeds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s obviously been on the bench for the last six Premier League games. Leeds have Stach, Ampadu and Guluev in midfield and are sticking to this starting eleven at the moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s clearly struggled for minutes in recent weeks, but he&#8217;s still made 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think Leeds are going to get rid of him now. He&#8217;s still an important player for the club and I&#8217;m sure he&#8217;ll remain that way until the end of the season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Midfield_competition_and_tactical_changes\"><\/span>Midfield competition and tactical changes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Aoi Tanaka made a good impression at the beginning of the season, but due to a combination of a prolonged injury and a slight decline in her form, she lost her place in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n<p>The situation was further complicated by Daniel Falke&#8217;s tactical evolution.<\/p>\n<p>To solidify his midfield, Farke has pivoted to a stronger trio of Anton Stach, Ethan Ampadu and Ilya Guluev.<\/p>\n<p>This system provides Leeds with the defensive stability they lacked at the start of the season, making it difficult for Tanaka to reintegrate into the team.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>competition<\/th>\n<th>played<\/th>\n<th>begins<\/th>\n<th>the goal<\/th>\n<th>assist<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>premier league<\/td>\n<td>20<\/td>\n<td>7<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>FA Cup<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>twenty two<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Leeds are fighting to stay in the Premier League, but it remains to be seen how their final position will affect their summer transfer plans.<\/p>\n<p>However, for now, it is thought that the club will retain the Japanese international.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leeds United have no plans to sanction Ao Tanaka&#8217;s departure, according to the latest update from Football Insider&#8217;s transfer correspondent Pete O&#8217;Rourke. Despite lacking playing time in the Premier League recently, the Japan international remains an integral part of Daniel Farke&#8217;s side. Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-44166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}