Trevor Sinclair has suggested that Antonio Conte ‘doesn’t trust’ Joe Rodon to play him ‘consistently’ and he thinks he could leave Tottenham this summer, as he told Chris Cowlin’s YouTube channel.
With only 86 minutes of Premier League football under his belt last season, it’s pretty obvious that Rodon’s future is away from Spurs.
There are suggestions that newly-promoted Nottingham Forest are keen on adding Rodon to their ranks this summer – but Conte is still unsure about letting him go.
Yes, Conte plays three at the back, so added with the club being in Europe, that extra centre-back is needed ahead of the new campaign.
But following the loan signing of Clement Lenglet from Barcelona, it’s pretty obvious that another defensive player is pushing ahead of the Welshman.
As a result, former England winger Sinclair can see the player heading for the exit door this summer, albeit, he feels it might be a loan deal more than anything.
“I think defensively, especially when you have a manager like Antonio Conte, then they need reliability,” said Sinclair. “I think naturally as a young player you are going to make mistakes.
“I just don’t think the trust is there yet at that level, where you can trust Rodon enough to play him consistently. Maybe a loan move for him.”
RODON NEEDS TO LEAVE
It has been two years since Spurs paid Swansea a fee rising to £15 million for Rodon’s talents (Sky Sports), but it’s a transfer that hasn’t worked out.
Not because the 24-year-old isn’t good enough or he has made mistake after mistake whenever he has been presented with an opportunity, but the fact that he has hardly played under Jose Mourinho, Ryan Mason, Nuno Espirito Santo and now Conte.
In total, the Wales international has played 24 matches for the club and he has to be looking for minutes elsewhere, especially with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar around the corner.
Rodon will be on that plane to Qatar, but he will want to go to that tournament firing and ready, rather than being half-cooked for the biggest moment of his career.
The key thing here is that if Spurs do let him go, it’s not like they are losing a key member of the team, plus they have enough cover for him to be able to head for the exit door.
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