Leeds United are closing in on the signing of Fortuna Dusseldorf midfielder Ao Tanaka, with the Japan international on his way to England from Germany for his medical, according to Sky Sports.
The Elland Road club will be signing the 25-year-old in a £3.4 million deal, and he is set to become their seventh signing of the summer transfer window.
Tanaka has been on the radar of Leeds since last summer when they first emailed the 2. Bundesliga club to ask about him.
Ao Tanaka is flying into the north of England today for a medical with #LeedsUtd. Deal expected to be worth total of £3.4m. More here: https://t.co/OzHTtF6aQx #LUFC pic.twitter.com/JeEIVlt1Z8
— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) August 29, 2024
The Whites did not follow up their initial enquiries with further ones or a bid but have returned for him this summer and could officially announce his signing in the coming hours.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke has already added Manor Solomon, Joe Rodon, Largie Ramazani, Jayden Bogle, Alex Cairns, and Joe Rothwell to his squad as he looks to go one better this term in search of Premier League promotion.
Negotiations for Tanaka were ramped up in recent days, and the midfielder was very keen to join them after narrowly missing out on Bundesliga promotion last term.
Leeds have started the 2024-25 Championship campaign with a win and two draws, and they will be looking to get better and maintain momentum so as to finish in the top-two and secure automatic promotion to the top-flight after two seasons away.
The opportunity to potentially play Premier League football in 2025-26 was too huge for the Fortuna star to turn down, and the Peacocks are adding a quality player to their midfield.
Tanaka has ten goals and eight assists in 95 games for the German second-division club, with eight goals and four assists coming in 36 games last term, while he notched ten goals and nine assists in 94 games for Japanese top-flight club Kawasaki Front before moving to Germany.
