Tottenham Hotspur make key Joe Rodon decision as Leeds United loanee's future made clear

Tottenham Hotspur have exercised an option to extend Joe Rodon's contract with the Premier League club. That's according to Football.London, who claim Spurs have made the move to ensure they are guaranteed to pick up a fee for the defender.

The report claims that the five-year contract Rodon was reported to have signed in north London in the summer of 2020, was actually a four-year structured deal with the club holding the option to extend it by an extra year. As such, Rodon could theoretically have been allowed to leave the Premier League side for nothing this summer had Spurs not taken out the option, in a similar manner to Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga, who have both been released this week.

Rodon is still expected to follow the pair out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium door this summer with Leeds United just one of the clubs keen to sign the Wales international permanently. But, the move, which Rodon was informed about last month, ensures the Whites will have to pay a fee for the defender, with Spurs said to be willing to listen to offers around the £10 million mark given he does not feature in Ange Postecoglou's plans.

Rodon has spent the season on loan at Elland Road, where his consistently reliable performances at the back were key to Daniel Farke's side promotion push. Unfortunately, Leeds fell short in the Championship play-off final, with a 1-0 loss to Southampton ensuring they will have to go through another campaign as a second tier club.

That loss and the financial repercussions of it make a deal to sign Rodon permanently a lot harder. Of course, the club will have to cut their cloth accordingly and therefore it remains to be seen if they will be able to afford to go ahead with their pursuit of the 26-year-old.

That could open the door to a Premier League club, with Southampton said to be one of several sides monitoring the Welshman's situation. Where Rodon will ply his trade next season remains to be seen, but it's clear that due to his form in Leeds white, he won't be short of suitors.

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Rodon made 50 appearances for Leeds during his time at the club, stepping off the bench for a brief debut in the loss to Birmingham City shortly after joining before making a full bow at Elland Road a few days later against West Bromwich Albion. He started all but two games after that point, with the red card he received against Hull City being the only real blemish on his record.

His partnerships with Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu were noteworthy and alongside the latter he managed to help Leeds to 11 clean sheets between January and May.

Rodon has made just 24 appearances for Spurs since leaving hometown club Swansea City to pen the aforementioned deal with the top flight outfit, spending most of his time in the capital sat on the bench.