Postecoglou tipped to use unwanted Tottenham star in explosive swap for Leeds attacking dynamo

Leeds United may reportedly be presented with the chance to wrap up the permanent signing of impressive loan star Joe Rodon in January – but Tottenham are being tipped to prise a talented young winger away from Elland Road as part of a swap.

The Whites suffered relegation from the Premier League back in May, the final nail in their coffin a thumping 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham on the last day of the season. After two years battling the drop, it did not come as a massive shock to see Leeds eventually succumb, especially given the manner in which they had gone through four different managers during the 2022/23 campaign.

With 15 players departing Elland Road off the back of their demotion, new manager Daniel Farke was left with a major rebuilding job to do – and not a lot of time to get players through the door.

However, the Whites, now under the control of 49ers Enterprises, appear to have invested into their squad extremely wisely, with a number of summer recruits all making a quick impact in West Yorkshire.

To that end, Ethan Ampadu, Joel Piroe and Glen Kamara have all made sizeable impressions with Farke’s side finding form in recent weeks and winning six of their last seven matches to nail down third place in the Championship.

With Ampadu arguably the club’s player of the season so far, another new recruit in Rodon has also made a sizeable impression at Elland Road.

Signing on a season’s loan from Tottenham, the 26-year-old has featured 13 times so far and is now one of the first names on Farke’s teamsheet.

In fact, Rodon is now part of the joint second-meanest defence in the division, having conceded 16 goals so far.

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Postecoglou tipped to offer Rodon in swap deal for Leeds star

The Welshman’s form at Elland Road so far is rekindling memories of another loan defender who starred for Leeds on their way to promotion. Indeed Ben White was a relative-unknown when maverick former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa snapped him up on loan from Brighton as a replacement for fans’ favourite Pontus Jansson, who was sold to Brentford.

White’s form for Leeds in the 2019/20 campaign was nothing short of exceptional and Leeds saw three bids  – the latter topping some £30m – rejected by Brighton to make the deal permanent.

That decision was ultimately vindicated by the Seagulls, who gave White a year of Premier League football at the AMEX before selling him to Arsenal for £50m.

But for Leeds, the form of Rodon is now making supporters a little anxious given, he too, like White, is only at the club on loan.

Rodon, however, does not appear to have a future at Tottenham. And with Ange Postecoglou rejecting a recall option within the loan deal with Leeds, it seems the player has already played his last game for the north London side.

With his deal at Spurs due to expire in summer 2025, it’s claimed Spurs could look to cash in if they received an offer worth around £20m.

And that move already appears to have been given its blessing by his Spurs and Wales teammate Ben Davies.

Now the Daily Express are suggesting that the move to take Rodon to Elland Road permanently could be done as soon as January.

However, rather than a straight-cash sale, it’s reported that Postecoglou could look to sign Leeds winger Willy Gnonto as part of any deal.

Willy Gnonto linked with Spurs move

The Italy star, who recently turned 20, was one of the few big-name players Leeds managed to retain over the summer after relegation was confirmed.

However, his failure to secure a move saw the player go on strike, before he eventually settled his differences.

Since then, though, Gnonto has slipped down the pecking order and is no longer considered a first-choice winger under Farke with Crysencio Summerville and Dan James both nailing down starting berths.

While Gnonto has still made 11 appearances so far, he only has one goal and one assist to his name. And amid suggestions the player remains unsettled, reports in Italy last week linked the 13-times capped Italy winger with a move to Serie A with Lazio.

While publicly denying he is unhappy, it’s reported Gnonto would be open to a potential move if the opportunity to present itself.

Now the Express suggests Postecoglou could look to bring the winger to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a straight swap for Rodon.

They claim the Australian sees Rodon as the perfect bargaining chip to get a deal done and that an approach may yet tempt Leeds into doing business.

Gnonto is contracted to Leeds until summer 2027 and has 11 goal involvements (five goals and six assists) from 37 appearances in total.

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