Leeds United have suffered a huge blow in the race to sign Joe Rodon, with Football Insider claiming the deal is set to collapse.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a career resurgence last season after spending the campaign on loan at Elland Road. He was an ever-present in Daniel Farke’s side, making 50 appearances in all competitions.
After emerging through Swansea City‘s academy, his performances for the Championship outfit were enough to convince Tottenham Hotspur to pay an initial £11 million for his services in 2020. However, he struggled to make an impact at the Premier League club and has made just 24 outings for the North Londoners.
After a temporary stint at Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais, he opted to make the drop back to the second tier with Leeds. It was here that the Welsh international reminded everyone of his obvious quality, and the Whites’ interest in signing the centre-back on a permanent basis has been well documented.
Parent club Spurs had been keeping a keen eye on his progress, hoping to manipulate the situation in their favour. Previous reports have claimed that they are looking to recoup as much of their initial outlay as possible, and had set a fee of around £10-15 million.
Leeds’ failure to secure promotion had meant that any deal looked unlikely, even more so when it was claimed that their play-off adversaries Southampton had joined the race. The Saints are hoping to use their new-found Premier League status to attract the defender to the south coast, although Ipswich Town are also keen.
Football Insider now state that Leicester City are in the running and Rodon will opt to make a move to a club competing in the top tier. Leeds would have stood an excellent chance of convincing him to make the permanent switch to Yorkshire had they been promoted, but he has no intention of competing in the Championship next season.
Writer’s View
This could be another difficult summer for Leeds. Their transfer plans had to shift drastically after their play-off final defeat last month and losing out on Rodon will be a bitter blow.
The defender was a huge hit at Elland Road and he clearly enjoyed his time at the club. However, he has proven that he deserves a shot at regular Premier League football following his disastrous move to Tottenham. It’s interesting that all three promoted clubs are hoping to take advantage of the situation, leaving Spurs in a position where they will more-than-likely receive their full valuation of the player.
