Earns more than Tanaka: Farke's "liability" is on borrowed time at Leeds

[ad_1] The step up from the Championship to the Premier League was at all times going to be a difficult one for Leeds United after they received the second tier title within the 2024/25 marketing campaign.

Within the final two seasons, all six of the newly-promoted groups have been immediately relegated from the Premier League after arising from the Championship, which illustrates how huge the hole between the 2 divisions is.

Daniel Farke and the board knew that the squad must bear some modifications in the course of the summer time switch window to provide the membership a preventing probability of avoiding relegation.

With a haul of eight factors after seven matches, it's honest to say that it at the moment appears to be like just like the 49ers did good work within the window by signing the likes of Anton Stach, Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Noah Okafor, amongst others.

Due to the step up in high quality and physicality within the Premier League, among the gamers who have been instrumental for Farke within the Championship have discovered themselves falling down the pecking order.

One instance of that's central midfielder Ao Tanaka, who's at the moment out of the beginning XI and doesn't appear like breaking into it any time quickly.

Why Ao Tanaka is just not a starter for Leeds The Japan worldwide was a star for the West Yorkshire outfit within the Championship within the 2024/25 marketing campaign after his everlasting transfer from Fortuna Düsseldorf in the summertime of 2024.

Tanaka nailed down a spot in the course of the park, subsequent to Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rothwell, or Ilia Gruev, to finish the marketing campaign with 37 begins in 43 appearances, per Sofascore.

The 27-year-old star was a midfield metronome for the Whites. He ranked throughout the high 2% of central midfielders within the league for cross accuracy (89.2%) and the highest 7% for progressive passes per 90 (7.03), per FBref, which reveals that he was extremely dependable and progressive in possession.

Sadly, although, the step up in physicality within the Premier League seems to have been an excessive amount of for the midfielder to take care of, as he has struggled bodily and defensively this season.

25/26 Premier League

Ao Tanaka

Percentile rank vs CMs

Tackles

1

Backside 4%

Duels received

5

Backside 6%

Duel success price

23.8%

Backside 3%

Fouls dedicated

2

Backside 24%

Ball recoveries

10

Backside 32%

Dribbled previous

6x

Backside 10%

Stats by way of FotMob

As you may see within the desk above, Tanaka ranks among the many worst midfielders within the division in a number of bodily and defensive statistics, shedding a whopping 76.2% of his duels.

Per Capology, although, the Japanese whiz is the third-lowest earner within the senior squad on £25k-per-week, which means that the Whites can afford to maintain him as a back-up choice.

Tanaka, who has began two matches within the Premier League this season, could should accept being a rotation participant for Farke on account of his lack of physicality, however his low wages recommend that the membership shouldn't be in a rush to maneuver him on from Elland Street.

In the meantime, there's a Leeds flop who earns greater than the Japan worldwide, regardless of taking part in fewer minutes, and ought to be on borrowed time in West Yorkshire.

Illan Meslier has not performed a single minute of aggressive soccer within the 2025/26 marketing campaign, and may very well be on his method out of the membership within the not-too-distant future.

Why Leeds want to maneuver on from Illan Meslier While Tanaka has, no less than, began two league video games and performed in 5 league matches, the French goalkeeper has not made a single look for the membership in any competitors this season.

<img width="1650" height="826" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Leeds United's Illan Meslier celebrates after the match " data-img-url="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/leeds-united-s-illan-meslier-celebrates-after-the-match.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" src="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/leeds-united-s-illan-meslier-celebrates-after-the-match.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"/> Per Capology, Meslier earns £30k-per-week at Elland Street. That's as a lot as Karl Darlow and Jayden Bogle, and greater than Tanaka (£25k-per-week) and Ilia Gruev (£15k-per-week).

The left-footed goalkeeper, per Capology, has earned roughly £7m in wages in his Leeds profession, which is because of soar to round £8.5m by the top of the present marketing campaign, on high of the £5m charge that the Whites paid Lorient for his providers.

<img width="1650" height="826" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Leeds United's Illan Meslier arrives at the stadium" data-img-url="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/leeds-united-s-illan-meslier-arrives-at-the-stadium.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" src="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/leeds-united-s-illan-meslier-arrives-at-the-stadium.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"/> Which means the Leeds flop, who was as soon as dubbed a "huge legal responsibility" by journalist David Kent, has rinsed the membership for £12m to this point, and as much as £13.5m by subsequent summer time.

The 25-year-old dud was the primary between the sticks for 4 seasons at Elland Street, together with three within the Premier League and one within the Championship, however his underlying information reveals that the scenario was at all times heading to the place it's now.

Illan Meslier's shot-stopping type earlier than 2024/25

Season

Targets conceded

Publish-shot xG minus objectives conceded

23/24 (Championship)

40

-3.1

22/23 (Premier League)

67

-12.4

21/22 (Premier League)

79

-16.2

20/21 (Premier League)

52

-3.4

Stats by way of FBref

Meslier constantly underperformed as a shot-stopper for the Whites and it lastly value him when Farke dropped him from the facet on the finish of the 2024/25 marketing campaign to make Darlow the brand new primary.

The Wales worldwide began the final seven video games of the Championship season, after Meslier made three errors that led to objectives (Sofascore), and Leeds received promotion to the Premier League with him in web.

The summer time switch window, as aforementioned, supplied the membership with a chance to bolster their squad they usually introduced Lucas Perri in from Lyon to start out between the sticks.

This meant that Meslier began the present season because the third-choice goalkeeper at Elland Street. Though he's at the moment on the bench behind Darlow, while Perri is injured.

<img width="1650" height="826" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="illan-meslier-leeds-united-premier-league" data-img-url="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/illan-meslier-leeds-united-premier-league.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" src="https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/illan-meslier-leeds-united-premier-league.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"/> The 25-year-old is in no man's land in West Yorkshire as a result of Farke has clearly determined, by the signing of Perri and his use of Darlow, that the Frenchman is just not part of his plans shifting ahead.

That's the reason Meslier, who has already rinsed the membership for £12m throughout his time at Elland Street to this point, is on borrowed time at Leeds and ought to be moved on in the course of the January switch window.