Leeds United defender Joe Rodon has been an instant at Elland Road since his summer loan move from Tottenham Hotspur and Daniel Farke could be tempted into a permanent transfer already.
The Welsh international centre-back joined the Whites on a temporary basis as Leeds looked to strengthen their backline in the chase for promotion having lost captain Liam Cooper to injury.
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay shared on 15 September that Spurs wanted a fee of over £10million for his services before a compromise was reached.
The Athletic journalist also shared that there is a strong executive relationship between Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear, which helped in agreeing on a loan move.
Spurs’ initial demands of an eight-figure transfer fee were appeased by the loan deal, as any further improvement to Rodon’s game through first-team experience will prove beneficial to them if they want to sell him in the future.
However, given the centre-back’s swift impact at Elland Road and rapid development, Leeds manager Farke may well be forced to an instant decision to make the player’s move a permanent one.
Rodon has so far featured in four of the Whites’ five Championship games and has exemplified everything Farke wants in his players through his dogged and resilient mentality which was on show for everyone to see in their 3-0 triumph over Millwall on Sunday (17 September).
Despite receiving a nasty blow to the head that left the Welsh international with a cut above the eyebrow, he managed to play on and help Daniel Farke’s side to another three points and a second consecutive clean sheet.
Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast on Monday (18 September) Hay discussed his form: “Rodon I think has had a really good start at Leeds. I think again it looks like a very strong, steady signing at centre-back.
It cannot be a bad thing that you’re suddenly two clean sheets on the bounce given Leeds have seemed to abandon the concept of clean sheets completely for the last two to three years.”
Given the huge turnover of players both in and out of Elland Road this summer, the signing of the 25-year-old defender slightly slipped under the radar, being overshadowed by the high-profile entrances of Glen Kamara and Joel Piroe.
But so far, he’s arguably been the most impressive and his stats so far prove just that.
Rodon has already helped Leeds United to two clean sheets in his four appearances, successfully completed 91% of his passes in his own half which is impressive given the gruelling nature of the division, averaged 1.2 interceptions, 2.2 ball recoveries, 3.6 clearances per game and has also won an impressive 72% of his total duels [SofaScore] arguably marking him out as one of the best centre-backs in the division so far.
Tottenham’s reluctant transfer stance on Rodon is certainly understandable seeing as he still holds plenty of sale value and that has been shown already in West Yorkshire, and it won’t be a surprise to see Farke initiate early talks for a permanent deal long before the January window opens.
