"Glaring issue" - Leeds United: Message sent to Daniel Farke regarding Ao Tanaka | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit is hopeful of Ao Tanaka's full debut for the club against Coventry City.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United host Coventry City at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon and could be without a number of first-team players, but it could pave the way for Ao Tanaka to start his first game for the club.

The Whites now find themselves sixth in the Championship and Daniel Farke's side are looking to continue their momentum after their win over the weekend to Cardiff City.

Farke will once again have a number of decisions to make regarding his Leeds starting line-up when the Whites welcome Coventry to West Yorkshire. The Sky Blues picked up a point at Elland Road last season and won in the reverse fixture back in April.

This weekend’s contest marks a clash between the last two season’s beaten play-off finalists, who each have plenty of quality players on their respective sides to call upon. However, Farke is likely to require changes against Cov given the reveal of fresh concerns in the squad during his pre-match press conference.

The Leeds United view on changes for Coventry City

We asked FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith for his thoughts on the one change he would make from the win over Cardiff ahead of Saturday's fixture against Coventry.

Often, Farke outlines injury issues but players are able to make his starting XI, but one area of the team in particular is causing Smith a headache, and many other Leeds fans too.

He said: "I don't really think Farke's line-up for the win over Cardiff last time out was far off at all from being the strongest possible team we could field at the moment.

"However, the glaring issue that I think most Leeds fans will point to in terms of that at the moment, in how we're setting up, is the lack of progression we're getting from midfield.

"That isn't so much an Ethan Ampadu problem, but an Ilia Gruev issue.

"He is nominally a deep-lying No.6 who has been tasked with playing as a box-to-box No.8, and it just looks so awkward when he has the ball and is trying to move it forwards.

"Because that just isn't what he's good at receiving in those positions, so Leeds need someone more natural to it.

"Thankfully, we signed someone in the summer who is natural for that position; we just haven't seen him start yet.

"Even though he has been here over a month now, Ao Tanaka is ready and waiting.

"To me, there is no reason why he is not starting at the moment.

"Despite Pascal Struijk's potential injury, Tanaka coming in would be a solution to how stale we look against teams that sit deep.

"If Farke wants to resolve that problem soon, then he needs to start putting Tanaka in the line-up. That means putting him in against Coventry.

"Of course, Struijk would be in our team every week in an ideal world, but Tanaka hopefully has his chance now.

"And he's got to take it if it comes and Gruev moves back to being the deepest midfielder with Ampadu taking Struijk's place in the back four.

Leeds have been accused of looking pedestrian and laboured in possession by some fans this season and towards the end of last year, too.

Struijk is excellent in the build-up phase, but Leeds have struggled against teams compacting the middle of the pitch or sitting deep in a low block, and solutions to that problem have been few and far between in the final third.

Tanaka could help add a touch more creativity and guile, as well as tempo in build-up, which makes him the ideal answer to more balance in midfield.

He could prove to be a real metronome and tempo setter long-term. His passes are punchier and provide more balance next to a deeper defensive-minded midfielder.

Long-term, they will hope that is Ampadu, but it is also a role which suits Gruev more as well. The rest of the line-up against Cardiff was close to full strength everywhere else, as Smith alludes to.