View: Tottenham need to move Joe Rodon on ahead of next season
Joe Rodon spent the season on loan with Rennes of Ligue 1 and is now set to return to Tottenham.
The Welsh international made 16 league appearances during his time in France and scored one goal as Rennes finished fourth with the second-best defensive record in the division – conceding fewer times than champions PSG.
However, the Tottenham man kept just five clean sheets when he featured and his defensive statistics suggest it is time he is moved on from the club.
Ange Postecoglou is in need of some new defensive options next season as he is likely set to implement a back-four, which may come as a shock to the system after the club has become accustomed to a back-five style over the past few years.
As reported by Alasdair Gold via Football London (19 June), Postecoglou is willing to have a look at Rodon however the 25-year-old is likely to be moved on in search of first-team football with interest for his permanent services coming from the Premier League as well as Ligue 1.
And it feels as if moving the central defender on rather than having a look at him would be the correct call for the Australian coach.
The defender’s time at Rennes left a lot to be desired and the stats have revealed that he was incredibly underwhelming in some key defensive areas.
As per FBREF, Rodon was in the bottom five per cent of Ligue 1 defenders for tackles (0.70 per 90), interceptions (0.57 per 90) and passes blocked (0.25 per 90). On top of this, he tackled just 0.25 dribbles per 90 which placed him in the bottom two per cent compared to his positional peers.
Although Renne’s league position and dominance in particular games may have meant the Welshman had less defensive work to do, which might go some way in explaining the numbers, they are still incredibly low and make for concerning reading.
Rodon was clearly comfortable on the ball and did display some positive numbers in regard to his passing and possession statistics, ranking in the top one per cent of his positional peers for passes completed over a medium distance (41.98 per 90) and the top four per cent for passing distance (1254.60 yards per 90).
Yet, these numbers would have come as a result of the defender having much more time on the ball in a less competitive league where the intensity isn’t as high.
During his time in the Premier League, during the 2020/21 season, these numbers were no-where near as high, as he only completed 26.28 passes per 90 over a medium distance, placing him in the 55th percentile, and had a passing distance of just 858.40 yards per 90, putting him in the bottom 50 per cent of the league’s defenders.
It is clear that Rodon has really failed to kick on over the past few seasons and after a mediocre year in France it is finally time to move him on and look for serious upgrades in the defensive department.
In other Tottenham news, a rule twist has seen Spurs U21s avoid the drop.