After a flying start left them in early contention to be part of the Premier League title race, injuries and suspensions have caught up to Tottenham Hotspur, who have now lost their last three games.
It was all going so well until everything that seemed possible to go wrong did exactly that against Chelsea, with injuries to Micky van de Ven and James Maddison alongside red cards for Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero resulting in a 4-1 defeat.
Spurs’ squad depth, or lack thereof, has since been exposed for all to see, with Ange Postecoglou without an out-and-out centre-back in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. Despite those issues, Alasdair Gold believes one loaned out defender may not return to Spurs.
Spurs transfer news:
After losing Harry Kane, Spurs welcomed the likes of Van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and Maddison, who have all enjoyed impressive starts to life in North London.
Van de Ven’s arrival still left Spurs a centre-back short though, with Davinson Sanchez’s late exit handing Postecoglou what seemed like an inevitable defensive crisis. And soon enough the former Celtic boss found himself without both Van de Ven and Romero and forced to play a defensive duo of Ben Davies and Emerson Royal against Aston Villa.
Yet, with the Lilywhites in need of a centre-back, Alasdair Gold believes Joe Rodon may make a permanent move to Leeds United in January, where he has been on loan this season. Speaking on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast, the journalist said: “I think for Joe Rodon, if I’m Joe Rodon I wouldn’t even want to go back to Spurs anyway. He’s been smashing it at Leeds and I’ve no doubt they want to keep him.
“I wouldn’t be shocked in January if they tried to set up a deal to sign him permanently whether that’s at the end of the season or something, he’s just been phenomenal for them.”
“Phenomenal” Rodon has earned permanent move:
Away from Spurs, Rodon has enjoyed a successful loan spell at Leeds so far this season and has more than earned a permanent move if it comes.
On paper, the Lilywhites could do with the Welshman’s services, given their need for a central defender, but the last thing the former Swansea City man needs is to see his progress halted. Rodon’s stats, compared to Postecoglou’s current defensive options, show just how good he’s been at Elland Road.
So, whilst things never really worked out for Rodon at Spurs, be it through a lack of opportunities or his struggle to take the chances that he did get, Rodon has found his feet at Leeds, who could seemingly look to make his move permanent during the January transfer window. If Spurs do lose the Welshman on a permanent basis, then it will certainly be interesting to see when they decide to sign another central defender instead.