Pundit: Leeds United attacker Rodrigo could seal permanent transfer for £40m
Ben Foster admits that Leeds United will be compelled to sell Rodrigo after the season he's having in the Premier League.
The 31-year-old has scored nine goals in the English top flight this season in 13 games and has also provided a solitary assist.
Foster believes that Leeds must hold on to him, but knows that they may be forced to sell all players that are shining for them and even moots a fee of up to £40million.
He said on the Football GK podcast (24:42), “Rodrigo for Leeds, my gosh, this boy is on fire. What a season he’s having!
“They’ve got to hold onto him but again, Leeds seem to be that team where if somebody keeps smashing it, they’ll get bought. It’ll be £40-50 million quid or whatever it is.”
Will take it right away
We're not sure what world Foster is living in but if Leeds are offered that kind of money for Rodrigo, they'd definitely be grabbing it.
Rodrigo is 31 and may have one more good season left in the tank so it makes very little sense for any club to pay that kind of money for him.
His contract runs out at the end of the 2023/24 season so if he is to be sold in the summer, he will just have one year left on his deal.
Leeds would've been lucky to get that much for Raphinha with that much left on his deal and we clearly do not see Rodrigo going for that much.
There's a very good chance that he runs out his contract at Elland Road and returns to Spain for the last few years of his career.
A lot of players stop playing in the Premier League in their early 30s and prolong their careers in Spain or Italy as the pace of the game is slower and tends to suit them better.