If Joe Rodon had Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Virgil van Dijk ahead of him in the Tottenham Hotspur pecking order, well then the Wales international would probably be a little more accepting of his back-seat role.
Eric Dier is no Maldini, however. Davinson Sanchez is no Cannavaro.
And while it would be foolish to write off Christian Romero after just a handful of Premier League starts, the early performances of Spurs’ £47 million summer signing already feel eerily similar to that of another all-action Argentine who struggled to get to grips with English football.
One Nicolas Otamendi.
The lack of opportunities afforded to Rodon, then, feels somewhat strange.
He’s played just 54 minutes under Antonio Conte thus far – and none of those have come in the Premier League.
And it’s not as if Rodon has let the side down on the odd occasion that he has been included in the starting XI. The seldom-seen £15 million centre-back has certainly looked no worse than Dier or Sanchez, for whom moments of head-scratching ineptitude have become far too frequent.
No wonder he’s growing frustrated with his lack of game time (Football London).
Will Joe Rodon leave Antonio Conte’s Tottenham?
Maybe Conte feels that Rodon, a somewhat old-school centre-half who thrives in an aerial battle, is not a natural fit for his 3-4-2-1 formation.
Then again, Rodon was one of the pillars of Graham Potter’s free-flowing Swansea City side. It’s hard to imagine that he would have too many problems when tasked with passing the ball out from the back.
According to The Times, Rodon could be on his way out of Tottenham as soon as January, flanked by the similarly out-of-favour Tanguy Ndombele and Steven Bergwijn.
A reunion with Potter could be on the cards too.
Brighton and Hove Albion are in the market for a defender capable of replacing Lewis Dunk, the influential Seagulls skipper who could miss three months with knee ligament damage.
Brighton fans would take Rodon in a heartbreak. Then again, so would many Spurs supporters.
Unfortunately for many in North London, a change of manager does not mean a change of circumstances for a defender crying out for a chance to prove his worth.
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