By Sam Stone

31st Jul, 2022 | 9:10pm

Rodrigo must move on if Leeds United sign Southampton striker Che Adams

Leeds United are lining up a move for Southampton striker Che Adams and that should mean Rodrigo is shown the door after a disappointing couple of years at Elland Road.

The Sun reported (30 July) that Leeds are eying up a move for the 26-year-old striker as Jesse Marsch lines up some adequate competition for Patrick Bamford for the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Bamford and Rodrigo currently represent the club’s only senior striking options with exciting prospects Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt also vying for minutes in Marsch’s squad.

If Adams did make the switch to Yorkshire, then it would make sense for one of Leeds’ five strikers to leave the club.

Fans would be disappointed to see any of their youngsters leave so a move away for Rodrigo looks the most sensible option for the club at present.

His £27million move from Valencia hasn’t worked out as everyone would’ve hoped, with only 13 goals in 63 games pretty grim reading for the Spain international.

At 31, it is clear that he is past his best years and evidently Marsch is trying to sign a proven Premier League striker who is slightly younger.

The Spain international is entering the final two years of his current deal at Elland Road and the club could well look to cash in on him this summer to recover some of the transfer fee they paid for him in the summer of 2020.

Moving for Adams could well indicate that the club are more than happy to let the 31-year-old leave this summer to free up some more squad space.

The Southampton man would be a superb addition after proving he is more than capable of scoring goals at Premier League level at St Mary’s.

It is certainly time for Rodrigo’s torrid time at the club to come to an end.

In other Leeds United news, Kalvin Phillips has been slammed for “patronising” Leeds fans with a gesture he made after he joined Manchester City.