49ers Enterprises must ready Joe Rodon bid as Leeds United star avoids transfer question
Nearly all of the summer signings made by Daniel Farke during the transfer window have hit the ground running at Leeds United this season.
The likes of Ethan Ampadu and Joel Piroe have impressed at Elland Road as the Whites have found themselves well and truly in the hunt for automatic promotion back to the Premier League, even though they trail Ipswich Town and Leicester City in the early stages.
However, one of the stars of Leeds’ campaign so far has to be Joe Rodon. The Welshman has formed a remarkable partnership with Pascal Struijk in the Whites’ backline and many supporters have called for Leeds to make his loan switch from Tottenham permanent.
Rodon himself has spoken about his long-term future for the first time since he joined Farke’s side, admitting that his focus remains on the next game at hand rather than a potential permanent transfer to Leeds in the summer.
As quoted by the BBC’s Adam Pope (20 December) he said: “I can’t answer that question. All I can focus on is the next game and we’ll see what happens.
“My job is to give everything and be as successful as I possibly can with this team and this club.”
Although the Welshman has kept his cards close to his chest, he has refused to rule out extending his time with Leeds United and that should be enough for Farke and the 49ers to begin preparing a permanent move for the defender.
Rodon is quite clearly committed to the cause at Elland Road, as demonstrated by his desire to be successful under Farke’s management and although he hasn’t said it directly, his comments suggest that he wouldn’t be opposed to leaving Tottenham permanently.
There have been suggestions that Leeds could move to sign the 26-year-old in January, with Football London’s Alasdair Gold admitting that he “wouldn’t be shocked” to see the Whites set up a permanent transfer in the new year [Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham, 4 December].
Previously, Phil Hay [9 November] has suggested that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy would want £50million to allow Rodon to depart North London, but the fact that the Welsh international has refused to rule out a permanent exit would suggest there could be some wiggle room.
If Rodon keeps performing at the level he has done in the opening stages of the season, it will massively increase the chances of Leeds returning to the Premier League and then the 49ers would almost have to fund a permanent move.
The Whites’ owners should try to get ahead of their schedule and tie down his future in the January window.
In other Leeds United, Roma are reportedly able to sign Diego Llorente permanently from the Whites for £4.2 million