Leeds United earned a comfortable 3-0 win over Championship strugglers Birmingham City this afternoon.
Leeds United claimed a much-needed win at Elland Road today, ending a run of two-straight defeats in the Championship.
Daniel Farke saw his side go into half-time with a two-goal lead with Patrick Bamford netting his first goal since April and Dan James scoring his eighth Championship goal of the season so far.
Leeds remained in total control after the break, going close on a couple of occasions before Crysencio Summerville scored the third and final goal of the day, and his 12th Championship goal of the season so far.
There were several impressive individual performances today; Bamford gave Leeds a new outlet upfront and Farke some food for thought after dropping Joel Piroe to the bench.
Georginio Rutter also impressed playing in a no.10 role, but there was plenty of praise for centre-back Joe Rodon.
Phil Hay and Beren Cross impressed by Leeds United loan man Joe Rodon
At the break, journalists Phil Hay and Beren Cross both lauded Rodon’s first half performance, with Hay describing the Tottenham Hotspur loanee as ‘impressive’ and Cross describing him as ‘outstanding’.
As per Sofascore, Rodon made 1 tackle, winning 3 out of 5 duels and 1 out of 2 aerial duels, also recording 2 clearances and 2 interceptions.
Though it was Rodon’s passing that caught the eye today; he barely put a foot wrong, recording 81 touches (3rd most of any player on the pitch), also completing 71/73 passes, giving him a pass success rate of 97% (highest of anyone on the pitch).
A long-term heir to Liam Cooper?
Rodon has been a mainstay in the side this season having now featured 23 times in the Championship for Leeds, keeping Cooper mostly on the bench.
The 26-year-old Rodon has formed a pretty sturdy relationship with Pascal Struijk in the heart of the Leeds defence and with Cooper out of contract next summer, Farke will surely have an eye on a potential long-term replacement for the Leeds skipper, and Rodon will surely come into the thinking.
Spurs are reportedly wanting £20million for Rodon and the Welsh international recently gave a coy response on the possibility of joining Leeds on a permanent basis ahead of next season.
But if Leeds can secure promotion and clear some space off the wage bill, then £20million for a 26-year-old, international defender as impressive as Rodon seems like a fair price.
Farke and Leeds’ focus right now will be on closing the gap to the top two which is now down to seven points after Ipswich Town were held to a draw against 10-man Stoke City.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
