Pundit admits player might be starting for Spurs right now if he wasn’t out on loan

Robbie Savage acknowledged that Joe Rodon could have been handy for Ange Postecoglou this season had Tottenham hung on to him, but the pundit insists that the Lilywhites made the right call to loan out the Welshman.

After struggling to get any sort of continuity since his switch to Spurs in 2020, Rodon is now finally tasting regular football at Elland Road and the 26-year-old appears to be getting better with each game that he plays for Daniel Farke’s men.

The on-loan Tottenham star has been one of the best centre-backs in the Championship so far this season and he will be hoping to guide Leeds straight back into the top-flight.

Given the injuries that Postecoglou has dealt with at the back, with Cristian Romero missing three games due to a suspension and with Micky van de Ven out with a hamstring injury, the former Swansea man could have been of help to the Aussie coach had he stayed in N17.

When asked if Spurs should have hung on to Rodon as an emergency backup, Savage has now told TEAMtalk: “No, I don’t think so as the most important thing is for players to play football and I don’t think, at the start of the season, Joe Rodon would have played many games for Spurs… That’s why they have let him go to a good club in Leeds.”

“I look at [Cristian] Romero and [Micky] van der Ven and they have both been outstanding. In fact, the breaking up of their partnership has been the biggest reason, for me, behind their record of one point from their last four games.

“But Rodon just would not have expected games, nor could Ange Postecoglou guarantee them, if Rodon had stuck around.

“Hindsight is wonderful now with their injury and suspension problems that have affected them – and playing two full-backs [Ben Davies and Emerson Royal] at centre-half is not ideal – and if Joe Rodon was there, obviously, he might now have played.”

Rodon’s loan to Leeds was best for all involved

Savage insisted that Rodon desperately needed game time and that Tottenham will benefit from his loan move since the defender’s market value is increasing ahead of next summer.

The former Blackburn midfielder added: “Joe Rodon could not have become the player he is today had he not been getting the game-time he’s been getting at Leeds.

“So the move to Leeds has been beneficial for him – Spurs would have considered all that about loan recalls, and I don’t know if there’s one in place when they sent him out – but what I will say is that from Rodon’s point of view, he will want to continue doing that because of Wales’ playoff games. And if they can get to the Euros, it’s important for him to be playing regular football.

“He’s doing that at Leeds; I don’t think he does that at Spurs, so I don’t think Postecoglou is regretting it, but what they’ve got is a player playing outstandingly well in a team that is third in the Championship.

“It’s a win, win from Tottenham’s point of view. His contract there is up in 2025, meaning they either get an improved player back on their books next season, or they have an asset who they can make a lot of money from.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It would have been unfair to Rodon to hang on to him as fourth-choice centre-back, potentially wasting another six months of his career. The 26-year-old needed to play football and Spurs did the right thing by sanctioning his move.

Some might question why Tottenham did not add an emergency break clause to the loan agreement but I doubt Leeds would have agreed to the deal if Spurs were insisting on adding such a clause.