Speaking recently on a video posted by Football.london, Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold discussed Joe Rodon’s future at the club.
Since moving to Spurs from Swansea City in what was a £10.89 million deal back in October of 2020, Rodon has so far gone on to make five Premier League appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side, over which he has made an average of 0.2 tackles, one interception and two clearances per game.
The most recent of the £9 million-rated 23-year-old’s appearances came in the club’s 3-1 win over Sheffield United last Sunday, in which Rodon highly impressed – winning five aerial duels, making one tackle, two interceptions and three clearances, culminating in a WhoScored match rating of 7.14.
And, despite it still being very early on in his Tottenham career, Gold, speaking on a video for Football.London, revealed how impressed he has been with the centre-back thus far, as well as stating his high hopes for the Wales international going forward.
He said: “Joe Rodon, if he’s developed in the right way, could become a £70m defender. He’s a very good player. He’s one of those who, you can see he’s got all the tools. He’s got all the proper assets you need to be a very good defender, you could see why Spurs have gone for him.
“He’s got a little turn of pace – I wouldn’t say he’s electric, but he’s got a little bit. We saw [it] when he was covering [Eric] Dier in the first half [against Sheffield United] that he can get away. He’s good in the air, crunching tackles, decent anticipation. Of course, he’s going to make the odd silly mistake because he’s a 23-year-old starting his second ever Premier League match, that’ll happen.
“But I thought he was really promising. Obviously, playing him in a back three maybe helped him a bit, [as he’s] slightly less exposed. But I thought that was quite a promising performance, for me, going forwards. For Mourinho as well, whether he wants to admit it or not, I thought that Rodon gave him a few things to chew over in the weeks and months ahead when it comes to his defensive choices.”
Should Rodon keep his spot in the starting XI?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Alasdair Gold’s comments regarding Joe Rodon…
Considering the fact that, over his two starts in the Premier League, Rodon has earned WhoScored match ratings of 6.87 against Chelsea and 7.14 against Sheffield United, it would indeed seem as if the 23-year-old has settled in well to life in the Premier League.
And, as Gold suggests, perhaps the defender’s performance in the United fixture will indeed provide Mourinho with something of a selection headache in the position over the course of Tottenham’s upcoming games, and, in our opinion, Rodon has done more than enough to earn himself a spot in the 57-year-old’s starting XI going forwards.