Ethan Ampadu pleads with Joe Rodon to complete permanent Leeds United transfer from Tottenham after Middlesbrough win
Ethan Ampadu has begged on-loan Leeds United teammate Joe Rodon to remain at the club on a permanent basis.
The Welsh midfielder replied to his club and international teammate’s post on Instagram after the 3-2 weekend win over Middlesbrough, asking him to “please stay” at Elland Road.
Rodon, 26, signed on a temporary basis after the Championship season had already commenced and has been virtually ever-present for Daniel Farke.
The Whites boss has already confirmed that the centre-back won’t be returning to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January amid an injury crisis in Ange Postecoglou’s squad, but Ampadu wants to avoid that next summer as well.
Right move
On the basis of this season it seems like a no-brainer for Leeds United to push for a permanent deal, and have been backed to do so as soon as possible.
Rodon was well below his best as the Whites defence threatened to undercut the attacking fireworks on display against Boro on Saturday (2 December) but he still contributed a vital goalmouth block in the second half to help preserve the win.
His partnership with Pascal Struijk in the middle has been a major part of why Farke’s side have been climbing up the table ever since the close of the transfer window.
That they are now third and in a strong position to mount an assault on automatic promotion will likely require the German to consider whether Rodon, who has only made 15 appearances in the Premier League at Spurs, or indeed Struijk, who has made 85 but never looked especially comfortable at that level, can be his starters moving forward if they go up.
At the same time, failure to thrive in the top flight could arguably be levelled at most of the key men in the Leeds United starting XI, including Ampadu, who has been instrumental since his £7million move from Chelsea where he only made a single league appearance and was relegated on loan at Sheffield United.
So there currently looks to be good reason to ensure that Rodon stays at Elland Road for the long term if the price is right.
In other Leeds United news, Jeff Stelling couldn’t believe Whites news live on talkSPORT as Ally McCoist agreed it was “incredible”.