Leeds United made numerous signings throughout the summer transfer window with a view to improving the squad to be able to compete in the Premier League.
The Whites did not sign an entirely new starting line-up, though, and that meant that they had faith in some of their Championship stars making the step up to the top-flight to compete at that level.
This was the same strategy that Marcelo Bielsa and Victor Orta went with for the 2020/21 campaign, and Kalvin Phillips was one player who benefited from that approach.
Leeds hit the jackpot with Kalvin Phillips
The academy graduate came through the ranks at Thorp Arch and played a key role in the club’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2019/20 campaign, starting 37 of the club’s 46 Championship matches.
Instead of trying to replace him with a brand-new signing to excite supporters, Bielsa relied upon Phillips to be the main man in midfield for Leeds in the top-flight, a decision that paid off big time.
The central midfielder averaged 4.2 tackles and interceptions per game and won 52% of his duels across 29 appearances in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign, per Sofascore, which led to him being a starter for England at the Euros in 2021.
Leeds later sold the academy graduate for £45m to Manchester City in the summer of 2022, a fee that shows that the club hit the jackpot with Phillips by providing him with a chance to shine at the top level.
In the present day, one of the stars of last season’s Championship promotion has made a Phillips-esque transition to Premier League football, Joe Rodon.
Leeds have struck gold with Joe Rodon
The Whites signed the Wales international from Tottenham Hotspur for £10m in the summer of 2024, after spending the previous season on loan at Elland Road, and he helped the team to 25 clean sheets in 46 league games last term, per Sofascore.
Instead of ditching Rodon from the starting XI after the signings of Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw, Daniel Farke has relied upon the centre-back in the Premier League this season, and he has not been let down.
The Welsh colossus, who scored against Bournemouth in the recent 2-2 draw, has hit the ground running in the top-flight, so much so that TEAMtalk editor James Marshment recently claimed that the defender has made an “effortless transition to Premier League football“.
Rodon’s statistics in the Premier League this season back up that claim from Marshment, because he ranks well among his fellow centre-backs in the division in a host of key statistics.
Leeds United’s goal this season is to avoid relegation, which means that they need to be in and around midtable. The Welsh centre-back is outperforming even that modest goal.
|
25/26 Premier League |
Joe Rodon |
Percentile rank vs CBs |
|---|---|---|
|
Pass accuracy |
90.5% |
Top 26% |
|
Fouls won |
6 |
Top 18% |
|
Duels won |
36 |
Top 21% |
|
Duel success rate |
62.1% |
Top 48% |
|
Interceptions |
8 |
Top 29% |
|
Blocks |
4 |
Top 39% |
|
Ball recoveries |
17 |
Top 48% |
As you can see in the table above, Rodon ranks higher than middle of the pack in several defensive statistics in the top-flight, which shows that he has hit the ground running for the Whites in the same way that Phillips did in 2020.
These are not empty numbers that he is putting up in a failing defence that is under a lot of pressure, either, as Leeds currently rank fifth in the Premier League for xGA (7.9), per FBref, which shows that they have one of the tightest backlines in the division at the moment.
This means that Rodon’s exceptional defensive work has significantly contributed to the club’s strong start to life in the top-flight, along with the goal that he scored that helped to pick up a point against Bournemouth.
Therefore, Leeds have struck gold with the £10m signing from Spurs because he played a key role in the Championship and now looks to be a Premier League-grade central defender who is priceless to Farke’s side.
