Leeds United: 49ers must ready January bid to make Joe Rodon stay permanent
After a chaotic summer of transfers in and out of Elland Road, Leeds United now have a side full of quality that seems more than capable of challenging for promotion to the Premier League.
Under the ownership of 49ers Enterprises, the management of Daniel Farke and the assistance of transfer consultant Nick Hammond, the Whites made a number of quality additions to their side without breaking the bank in the summer window.
While the permanent signings of Glen Kamara and Ethan Ampadu have proven to be excellent additions, the loan deal to bring Joe Rodon to Elland Road for the season may well have been one of the best pieces of business and Leeds must try and make it permanent.
Tottenham Hotspur journalist for Football London, Alasdair Gold has mooted the possibility of the Whites setting up a permanent deal in January, suggesting such a development wouldn’t come as a shock after Rodon’s “phenomenal” start with the Whites [Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham, 30 November].
Such a deal is unlikely to come cheap, with Daniel Levy previously reportedly asking for a £50 million fee to make the switch to Elland Road permanent next summer [Phil Hay, 9 November], with such a fee almost certainly out of the Whites’ reach.
Even if Leeds United were promoted to the Premier League, they would be unlikely to spend such a large fee on Rodon given their current transfer record sits at £35.5 million, a figure which brought Georginio Rutter to the Premier League last January [Sky Sports].
But the 49ers and Hammond must work to try and agree some sort of permanent deal during the January transfer window and find a fee that is appropriate for all parties to complete the deal.
If Rodon is keen on moving to Elland Road on a long-term basis, that could help the Whites’ position in negotiations as the centre-back’s value would likely decrease if he were to push for a move.
The Welshman has been integral to Leeds’ early success at Elland Road and has been one of the best defenders in England’s second tier this year. Rodon has tackled 100 per cent of the players that have attempted to dribble past him and places in the 92nd percentile of Championship defenders for pass completion rate [Fbref].
Farke and the 49ers won’t have wanted to spend heavily in January after an expensive summer, but they cannot miss out on the chance to secure the 26-year-old’s future.
If he continues to perform as he has done in the opening months of the campaign, interest in Rodon will only increase between now and the summer transfer window and therefore his price will rise.
The 49ers may have to bite the financial bullet and attempt to agree a deal with Levy, even if it means forking out more than originally expected.
In other Leeds United news, Tom Cairney slammed Struijk for a “terrible” moment in the Whites’ win over Swansea City