After his deal to Leeds United fell through, Fortuna Dusseldorf midfielder Ao Tanaka delivered a brief update to media.
Leeds withdrew out of a deal to recruit Tanaka on Tuesday [29 August] amid claims he was hurt in a “horror” training incident [Rheinische Post].
However, a further update by Sky Sports Germany on Wednesday [30 August] claimed that was the cause for the failed transfer, with Leeds simply deciding the 24-year-old lacked the traits they were looking for.
Tanaka appeared to affirm his injury-free status when he told reporters at Dusseldorf’s training field on August 30: “I am healthy.”
The focus shifts elsewhere.
It is unusual for a transfer to progress as far as this one without being completed.
Injuries arise, as do complications involving finer personal details and previously undiscovered issues revealed by a medical exam.
But it’s weird for Leeds to pull the plug on signing 19-cap Japan international Tanaka because they’ve decided they don’t want him.
The Whites desperately need to recruit a central midfielder before the transfer window ends, but a move for Rangers‘ Glen Kamara has also fallen through.
Others have been connected with a move to Elland Road, which might make for a frantic finish before the 11 p.m. deadline on September 1.
The one certainty is that Tanaka will not be wearing a Leeds shirt after the odd events of the last several days.
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