Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Joe Donnohue Leeds United journalist Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka completed 90 minutes for Japan on Tuesday as the Samurai Blue ran out 3-1 winners over China in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Japan moved onto 16 points from six matches as they edge ever closer to booking their place at the 2026 World Cup in North America. Playing their first fixture in China for nine years, Japan received a hostile welcome as they faced China at the Xiamen Egret Stadium. The Japanese national anthem was booed as Tanaka and his international teammates lined up on the pitch, while laser pointers were also allegedly directed at Japan players once the game had kicked off, per Football Zone. Nevertheless, Japan went in two-nil up at the break and added a third shortly after China had reduced the arrears three minutes into the second half. The first half in Xiamen was not without incident, however, as a pitch invader is reported to have caused a brief stoppage to the match. Tanaka and co saw

By Kyle Newbould Jayden Bogle swapped Bramall Lane for Elland Road by joining Leeds United in the summer. Jayden Bogle admits he didn’t understand how big a club Leeds United were until he joined them in the summer. Bogle came through the door as Leeds’ fourth signing back in July, following Joe Rothwell, Joe Rodon and Alex Cairns after a £5million deal was agreed with previous club Sheffield United. The Whites reportedly saw two earlier bids knocked back by their Yorkshire rivals but succeeded at the third attempt, helped by the right-back being into the final 12 months of his Blades deal. Previous spells at Derby County and Sheffield United - the latter including two separate seasons in the Premier League - gave Bogle plenty of experience in performing under the pressures of a demanding fanbase. But reflecting on his first few months in West Yorkshire, the 24-year-old admits the ante is well and truly upped at Leeds. “Obviously, you hear things,” Bogle told the No Behaviour

Kris Smith Leeds United could have signed Viktor Gyokeres for just £11.7million in the 22/23 season, but Victor Orta didn’t want to. The Whites are in the Championship right now thanks largely due to the recruitment decisions taken up by the autonomous Victor Orta during the three-year Premier League stint. After staving off relegation in 2022, Leeds had an opportunity to kick on but failed to do so even with hefty January investment on three signings. Heading into the January window in 2023, Leeds needed a new striker to start hitting goals in consistently as Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo struggled to stay fit. Georginio Rutter was the man Leeds eventually landed on at a fee rising to £36million, but he wasn’t the only target. Victor Orta has now confirmed previous reports that Leeds could have signed then-Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres for a meagre £11.7million fee. He spoke at the Liga Portugal Business School, via Record, about this comical transfer blunder: “When

By Naveen Ullal Diego Llorente was at Leeds United for four years before leaving them permanently for Real Betis in the summer window. The Whites let the centre-back spend the last 18 months of his time at Elland Road on loan at AS Roma. They tried to sign him again, but the La Liga side won the battle in the end. Llorente has been a regular for the Andalusian club, making 17 appearances this season. Diario de Sevilla had a chat with the former Leeds man, who discussed his time with the English club. Leeds signed the defender from Real Sociedad in September 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 31-year-old has explained this made it difficult for him to initially adapt at the club. The newspaper stated he had a ‘difficult start’ at Leeds. Responding to that, he said: “It was a complicated period, because many factors came together. It was still a time of Covid and there was no normality either on a personal or sporting level. “It was also my first adventure

By Graham Smyth Leeds United have history when it comes to impactful loan players but Joe Rothwell was aware of a certain stigma that comes with a temporary move. It's safe to say that the Bournemouth midfielder did not come burdened with huge expectation when he arrived at Elland Road. Though Leeds fans remember fondly the incredible contributions of loanees Jack Harrison and Ben White in Marcelo Bielsa's promotion-winning side, Rothwell's signing in the summer was met with a muted response. Words like 'underwhelming' were thrown around by a section of the support and some simply assumed he was at Elland Road to provide depth. Starting just four games while on loan at Southampton for the second half of last season and failing to really show what it is he can do might have played into that narrative. And judging by Rothwell's comments, he has been well aware of the notion that he was coming to bulk out the squad. "Sometimes, people see you leaving a

All caps Written by: Chris McMenamy Artwork by: Eamonn Dalton To paraphrase a viral tweet, football fans can literally just sit around naming old players and have the best time. So welcome to the second instalment of a new series of blogs in which we try our best to remember obscure former Leeds United players and have the best time while doing so. After kicking things off with enemy of autocorrect Amdy Faye, now it’s over to Caleb Ekuban. Wait… who? Only one of the top scorers in the 2016/17 Albanian first division! Ekuban’s arrival was announced by the club with the headline ‘WHITES SNAP UP FORWARD’. All caps, like MF DOOM. They’ve since deleted the post, which could be a consequence of the website’s transformation, or just sheer embarrassment. Caleb and his brother Joseph both played professionally in Italy, but at separate clubs. Caleb came through the youth ranks at Chievo, while his little bro Joseph graduated from Hellas Verona’s academy. Both were born outside Veron