‘Not even close’… Championship fans heavily in favour of Leeds United ace Ao Tanaka winning prestigious award

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United are flying high at the top of the Championship this season, in no small part due to the efforts of Ao Tanaka.

The Whites secured a 2-0 victory over Millwall on Wednesday, while promotion rivals Sheffield United dropped two points versus Bristol City.

This allowed Daniel Farke’s side to open up a two-point lead over the Blades at the top of the Championship, with a four-point gap also established between the Peacocks and third-place Burnley.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	37	23	10	4	74	23	51	79
2	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	37	24	7	6	52	28	24	77
3	BurnleyBurnley	37	20	15	2	50	11	39	75
4	SunderlandSunderland	37	19	12	6	55	34	21	69
5	West BromWest Brom	37	13	17	7	47	33	14	56

Leeds United now face QPR in a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon and are expected to pick up yet another victory.

Leeds have dominated the second division this season following play-off heartbreak in 2023/24 and given current form, look set to secure promotion at a canter.

A number of the Yorkshire outfit’s players have shone over the course of 2024/25, but perhaps none more so than Ao Tanaka.

• READ MORE: How much Championship title is worth as Leeds United and Sheffield United chase Premier League prize fund

Leeds United ace Ao Tanaka should be Championship Player of the Season

Tanaka arrived at Elland Road from German outfit Fortuna Dusseldorf on August 30th, 2024.

The 26-year-old has since enjoyed a prolific debut season in England, making 34 appearances in the Championship.

Now, when asked on X/Twitter who the Championship Player of the Season has been, fans have voted heavily in favour of Tanaka.

One fan wrote: “AO Tanaka and it’s not even close.”

A second added: “Ao Tanaka easy,” while a third supporter simply wrote: “Tanaka.”

On the Leeds midfielder being named Championship Player of the Season, another fan was quick to mention the small transfer fee paid for him: “Hard to disagree with this, £3m as well.”

A fifth stated: “Tanaka (Burnley fan). Closely followed by Esteve,” while another supporter of a different team added: “Coventry City fan: Ao Tanaka.”

And a seventh explained: “Tanaka. Upgraded the Leeds midfield looks a cut above every other midfielder in the league. Absolute steal.”

• READ MORE: ‘Happily’ – Kalvin Phillips claim made on one condition for Leeds United amid links to Man City midfielder

Every Championship Player of the Season winner

The Championship Player of the season award first came into existence back in 2006 when it was won by Phil Jagielka.

Every winner of the prestigious award can be seen below:

• 2006: Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United)
• 2007: Jason Koumas (West Brom)
• 2008: Kevin Phillips (West Brom)
• 2009: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolves)
• 2010: Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United)
• 2011: Adel Taarabt (QPR)
• 2012: Rickie Lambert (Southampton)
• 2013: Matej Vydra (Watford)
• 2014: Danny Ings (Burnley)
• 2015: Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough)
• 2016: Andre Gray (Burnley)
• 2017: Anthony Knockaert (Brighton)
• 2018: Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)
• 2019: Teemu Pukki (Norwich)
• 2020: Ollie Watkins (Brentford)
• 2021: Emiliano Buendía (Norwich)
• 2022: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
• 2023: Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough)
• 2024: Crysencio Summerville (Leeds United)

Interestingly, Summerville is the only Leeds player ever to win the award, but given how well he’s played in 2024/25, Tanaka is in with a great chance of joining the forward in the history books in 2025.

The Championship Player of the Season is generally confirmed around mid-April of each year.