How Leeds United defender's Elland Road devotion almost led to commercial 'disaster' revealed

Leeds' promotional material for their 2024/25 kit was shot during the spring, at which time Wales international Rodon still belonged to parent club Tottenham Hotspur. The 26-year-old had been at Elland Road only nine months but at that point decided he wished to spend considerably longer at Elland Road with his future set to be resolved over the summer.

There was no guarantee Rodon would return to Leeds in a permanent transfer due to the complexities involved in negotiations between any two clubs conducting business together. This led marketers to express their concern that Rodon's inclusion in the club's promotional material for the next season's new kit launch presented a potential issue, because there was always a chance he would no longer represent the club.

"When you get a player like Joe Rodon, who after Christmas last year or in the spring when we were doing our kit shoots, insisted on being in the kit shoots for the following season's kit, which is obviously a disaster for the retail team because if we hadn't signed him, all the imagery would've been dead," chief executive Angus Kinnear told The Square Ball Podcast.

"Joe was desperate to be here and before we had any discussions with Tottenham Hotspur or his agent, he was six months out, showing his desire to be at the club and that's really important."

As it transpired, Rodon became Leeds' first major signing of the summer, joining on a four-year deal from Spurs. Fortunately for the club's retail department, it meant they were then able to utilise the promotional images shot months earlier that featured the Wales defender sporting the new strip.