Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has highlighted the deal involving Ao Tanaka in praising the club's work in the transfer market.
On Monday night, the Yorkshire giants recorded their most important of the 2024-25 to date as they fought back to beat Sheffield United by a 3-1 scoreline.
As a result, Leeds sit five points clear at the top of the Championship table and seven points ahead of third-placed Burnley in the race for Premier League promotion.
Much has been made of Leeds possessing, by far, the strongest squad in the second tier of English football, despite the midfield issues that arose earlier in the campaign.
Farke has been able to rely on a core of 17 players to move the club closer to a return to the top flight, that materialising despite key players such as Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter being sold in the summer.
© Imago
Farke praises transfer business
Tanaka, who put Leeds ahead at Bramall Lane, and Largie Ramazani were two largely-unknown players to the club's supporters ahead of their moves from Fortuna Dusseldorf and Almeira respectively.
Nevertheless, they have justified their switches to Elland Road, Farke acknowledging that the club's recruitment team had to be imaginative when it came to complying with the relevant rules of the EFL.
As quoted by Sport Witness, Farke told reporters: "Although the transfer surplus was unusual for Western Europe, it presented us with major challenges.
"After all, the expectations had not changed as a result. For us, promotion was once again the clear goal. However, we had to tackle this with much more limited resources. We had to be creative and show imagination, for example with the signing of Ao Tanaka from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
"The domestic market is overpriced, while at the same time the EFL stipulates that there must be at least eight Englishmen in the matchday squad.
"Conversely, this means that these players are in high demand and often correspondingly expensive. That's why we also look abroad, where we can often find high-quality players on better terms."
© Imago
Leeds well set for long-term Premier League stay?
In the short term, Leeds are solely focused on regaining their Premier League status, but they can afford to be optimistic about a long stay in the top flight.
The deals that they have conducted across the last two transfer windows have provided them with a net profit of in excess of £100m.
Theoretically, the purse strings can be loosened to give themselves the best chance of survival with the books having been balanced with some shrewd moves in the market.
Japan international Tanaka has justified his near-£3m fee with 31 appearances in the engine room, while Belgium Under-21 international Ramazani will be expected to build on his seven starts and 15 substitute outings after costing in the region of £10m.
Darren Plant
