When Leeds United must register Ao Tanaka for £3.5m midfielder to face Hull City amid Daniel Farke stance — YEP 29/8/24

By Kyle Newbould

Leeds United face a race against time for their incoming signing to be available for Saturday.

Leeds United look set for a busy end to the transfer window and hope to soon confirm Ao Tanaka’s arrival from Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Tanaka flew over to the UK on Thursday morning with medical tests booked in and hope a deal can be wrapped up before close of play today. Leeds agreed a £3.5million deal with Dusseldorf for the 27-cap Japan international, with Daniel Farke set to land a long-term target of his and fill a major gap in his current squad.

There is still plenty to do before Tanaka’s arrival is confirmed but club chiefs hope to conclude the transfer today, leading to questions over when the 25-year-old will make his debut. Leeds host Hull City at Elland Road on Saturday in another massive Championship clash, and the new signing could be involved if things are wrapped up quickly.

According to the EFL handbook: “A Player will only be eligible to play in a match organised by The League if the appropriate forms for his registration or the transfer of his registration (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Temporary Loan Transfers) are submitted (in such manner as the League shall specify from time to time) to and received by The League by 12.00 noon on the day prior to the date of such match and confirmed by the League to be in order.”

In short, Tanaka will be available if the EFL approve his paperwork before 12pm on Friday, allowing plenty of time in theory, given there is realistic hope of his arrival being announced today. Whether the midfielder actually features is another matter altogether, however, with Farke known to be against dropping new signings in so quickly.

The Leeds boss will be keen to see Tanaka in action among his new teammates before handing him a debut, and so the new arrival will need to be involved in Friday’s training session if he is to feature come Saturday. And even then, it could be that Farke sticks with what he’s already got, given the strong performance in last week's 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

Tanaka’s fitness is in no doubt, with the midfielder playing every minute of Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 2.Bundesliga campaign so far, equating to three games. He was reportedly absent from training on Wednesday, although that was thought to be a club decision to protect him ahead of a possible move to West Yorkshire.

Those attending Elland Road on Saturday afternoon - a rare 3pm kick-off - will likely see a debutant or two anyway, with recent signings on course for their first taste of action in a Leeds shirt. £10million winger Largie Ramazani arrived a little too late to feature at Hillsborough but watched on from the stands and has since trained with his new teammates all week.

Manor Solomon’s season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur was finally confirmed on Tuesday, and the Israeli international has been involved in training since, with hope he can enjoy an injury-free campaign at Elland Road. It remains to be seen whether Farke will start either or wait to introduce them from the bench, with all four attackers looking sharp against Wednesday last week.

Brenden Aaronson and Dan James got on the scoresheet while Wilfried Gnonto and Mateo Joseph were unplayable at times, with all able to argue their place in the starting line-up come Saturday. Farke is due to speak with the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of Hull’s arrival, and will likely be quizzed on team news among other topics.

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