Tottenham Hotspur were in the market for a new centre back over the summer, having seen Jan Vertonghen leave for Benfica.
A host of names were linked, including Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, but they ended up going for a signing much closer to home.
Spurs managed to secure a last-gasp deal for Joe Rodon in October, luring the Swansea City defender to North London just before the EFL deadline.
Rodon has only made one appearance for Spurs so far, and that was as a 90th minute substitute in the 1-0 win over Burnley last month.
The 23-year-old is still waiting for his first Tottenham start, but he is now off on international duty – and he will almost certainly see playing time there.
Wales take on the United States in an international friendly tonight, and Rodon should start in the heart of defence, as he usually does for Wales.
Speaking to Wales Online ahead of the game, Rodon has admitted that he struggled to concentrate on playing for Wales against Bulgaria in October because he knew Tottenham and Jose Mourinho wanted him.
Rodon noted that he was delighted to get the deal done, but really struggled to switch off – and that goes to show just what a pull Tottenham have in the market.
“It was the first Monday, the first deadline was when it started to develop. After Bulgaria it was basically non-stop. It was all kicking off,” said Rodon. “But I was delighted to get it over the line. It was quite hard, the Bulgaria game in particular was the hardest to concentrate.”
“When I knew it was true and it was developing the way it was. It was quite hard to switch off. But we got the win and everything went well,” he added.
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