The summer of 2024 for Tottenham Hotspur has been largely about moving on from players who, realistically, should have been moved on a lot sooner.
Tanguy Ndombele, the £63 million record signing, saw his contract terminated following a dismal loan spell at Galatasaray.
Ryan Sessegnon, Ivan Perisic and Japhet Tanganga also departed on free transfers, while Spurs impressively brought just shy of £20 million via the sales of forgotten men Troy Parrott and Joe Rodon.
The closet Parrott came to becoming a Tottenham first-teamer was his impressive performances during the pre-season tour of 2019.
As for Rodon, the towering Welsh international had not featured regularly for the Premier League outfit for the last three years.
Undoubtedly a victim of the managerial churn that has hit Tottenham hard in the post-Mauricio Pochettino era, Rodon fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and then Ange Postecoglou.
Fortunately, a fine spell at Leeds United last season offered Spurs the chance to recoup almost every penny of the £11 million fee they paid Swansea City back in 2020.
Joe Rodon leaves Tottenham Hotspur for Leeds United
Leeds paid £10 million to keep Rodon at Elland Road on a full-time basis, much to the delight of head coach Daniel Farke.
“We have done business. Really good business,” Farke tells Leeds Live ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener at home to newly-promoted Portsmouth. “To bring Rodon in permanently, good business.”
Despite losing three regular starters in Glen Kamara, Championship Player of the Year Crysencio Summerville and Tottenham’s own Archie Gray, Leeds are still the favourites to secure an automatic promotion spot next term.
Farke has been boosted by the addition of a proven Championship full-back in Jayden Bogle as well as the dynamic Joe Rothwell.
Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober – both of whom impressed initially during that relegation campaign – have returned from loan spells in the Bundesliga.
Rodon, however, looks like Leeds’ biggest coup of the lot. The 26-year-old was outstanding throughout the 2023/24 campaign in West Yorkshire, playing 50 games in all competitions and helping Leeds to move on from the long-serving but perennially-injured captain Liam Cooper.
“Bogle, good signing. Rothwell. Aaronson and Wober back from their loans,” Farke adds. “Hard to compare after losing the best player in the league (Summerville) and highest talent in the league and good midfielder (Gray).
“Difficult to say (we are) better equipped, but the situation is much better. Last summer, (there was) lots of uncertainty about many players and loan clauses, exit clauses…”
Daniel Farke understands Archie Gray exit
Rodon is likely to partner Pascal Struijk at the heart of Farke’s backline.
The versatile Ethan Ampadu is capable of thriving in a central defensive role too, while Wober’s return adds depth after Borussia Monchengladbach appeared to rule themselves out of a £15 million permanent move for the Austria international.
18-year-old sensation Gray – a revelation both in midfield and at right-back – leaves a big hole in the Leeds XI but, as Farke explains, keeping him after failing to secure promotion was an all-but impossible taask.
“There’s a reason every top club in Europe went after Archie,” Farke adds. “I would have loved to keep Archie but that’s not the point.
“We had a 17-year-old last year (who is worth) a multi-million pound (fee) now, who had not played before.
“Of course, I would have liked promotion and (to keep) improving the squad. But we have to accept the rules and the fact the player may outgrow the club.”
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