Leeds United’s late flurry of signing activity has renewed optimism at Elland Road.
Just over three weeks ago, after Leeds’ draw at West Brom, the mood couldn’t have been much worse with Georginio Rutter’s departure and a conspicuous lack of additions.
However, just like a year ago, Leeds really kicked their window into gear in the final parts, and they now have a squad capable of competing at the top.
Leeds made four new signings in the final eight days of the summer, the first of which being Largie Ramazani from UD Almeria.
Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka, and Isaac Schmidt all joined him in the last week, and Leeds’ team currently appears to be in good shape with the exception of a number 10.
Leeds beat Celtic to sign Ao Tanaka.
The signing of Solomon was widely regarded as the biggest coup of the summer, given his pedigree and the obstacles Leeds had to overcome to secure him.
Getafe and Ajax were both interested in a loan move for the 25-year-old, but Leeds won out due to his desire to stay in England.
And it wasn’t just Solomon who Leeds had to fend off top-tier interest in order to bring him to Elland Road; the Athletic also stated that the same was true for Tanaka.
Celtic, Midtjylland, and Serie A side Como were all interested in signing Tanaka, but he believed Leeds would be the best next step in his career.
Tanaka is known to have wanted to play in the Champions League at one point, and he may have had that opportunity this season if he had joined Celtic or Midtjylland.
Celtic already have a few of Japanese internationals in their roster in Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Daizen Maeda, so both of these considerations highlight what a coup it was for Leeds to get Tanaka, who Kieran McKenna dubbed ‘amazing’ back in July.
Tanaka’s debut vs Hull City reveals bargain Leeds signed Tanaka
Tanaka just in time for Saturday’s 2-0 win over Hull City, but manager Farke made sure he had some playing time.
He was brought on for the final four minutes plus stoppage time and spent no time in establishing his authority over the game.
Though the game was all but over when Tanaka came on, it was evident what a significant role he will play throughout the season.
Tanaka completed 18 passes in the brief time he had on the field, according to Opta’s Leeds United statistician Jonny Cooper.
Since Opta started tracking Championship data in 2013/14, only two players have completed more when coming off the bench in the 86th minute or later.
