"He is James Bond" - Leeds United boss Daniel Farke raves over £3.3m star in Watford win | OneFootball

Farke heaped the praise on Tanaka following Leeds' 2-1 win over the Hornets on Tuesday night, and even likened him to James Bond...

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has labeled summer signing Ao Tanaka as "outstanding", after the Japanese international put in another highly impressive performance in the club's 2-1 win over Watford on Tuesday evening.

Quoted by Leeds Live in his post-match press conference, Farke was full of praise for the 26-year-old central midfielder, who arrived from Fortuna Düsseldorf in the final hours of the summer transfer window in a deal understood to be worth £3.3m.

The industrious midfielder was brought in to help fill the void that Glen Kamara left in the engine room, and with Darko Gyabi heading back out on loan to Plymouth Argyle, Archie Gray signing for Spurs and Marc Roca making a permanent exit to Real Betis, central midfield had the feeling of potentially becoming a problem position for Farke this season.

But, thanks to strong showings from the likes of Brenden Aaronson, Ilia Gruev, Joe Rothwell and Tanaka, the Whites appear to have some real strength in depth in that department once again this term.

However, it's their Japanese international who Farke was particularly keen to rave about following Tuesday night's win over the Hornets...

Farke: "He is James Bond"

Leeds came racing out of the blocks at Elland Road, as a powerful effort from range by Largie Ramazani after four minutes was too hot to handle for Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, who couldn't prevent the ball from crossing the line after spilling it into the net.

That was quickly followed up with a tidy finish from Aaronson after just seven minutes, as Bachmann once again couldn't hold onto the ball and parried it into the path of the American international, who dispatched his effort from the centre of the box.

A Kwadwo Baah goal just after the restart threatened a nervy second half in prospect for the Whites, but their two early strikes would be enough to earn Farke's side all three points. However, on a night on which he could've bagged his first Leeds United goal, Farke would wax lyrical over Tanaka's performance.

As quoted from Leeds Live, Farke said:"He was outstanding today. Lads are doing some jokes about Tiger Tanaka - a Bond villain. No, no he is James Bond. He saved the world today. Steel. Crucial and decisive duels. He was James Bond for us. He can keep going like this."

Ethan Ampadu injury clears path for long-term starting role for Tanaka

After being limited to brief cameos from the substitutes bench during his first few games as a Leeds player, it was unclear as to how big of a role Tanaka would play during his debut season in English football.

The proven and trusted midfield duo of Welsh international Ethan Ampadu and Bulgarian international Gruev presented an imposing challenge to any other central midfielder on the club's books, but opportunity is never far away in the Championship.

Ampadu would be forced off with a knee injury just before half-time in a 3-0 win over Coventry City on 28 September, and so arrived Tanaka's watershed moment, as he came on to replace the 24-year-old.

Since then, Tanaka hasn't looked back, starting and completing the full 90 minutes in each of Leeds' following four Championship games.

With Ampadu now confirmed to be sidelined until January at the earliest, the Japanese midfielder now has the chance to cement his place in the starting XI during the meat and bones of the season.

Should he carry his outstanding performance levels from recent outings into the months ahead, Ampadu, and indeed any other central midfielder, will surely face a huge task taking his shirt away from him?

Tanaka has adopted the role of Leeds United's midfield metronome, and it looks like it could well be the soundtrack to Premier League promotion. As such, Farke will surely not want to risk changing that tune anytime soon.