Leeds United are going to be busy in the summer transfer window on their way to, hopefully, building a squad that can avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Whites have already been linked with plenty of players to potentially arrive at Elland Road in the coming months, as Daniel Farke looks to improve his team.
Feyenoord forward Igor Paixao, Tottenham Hotspur central midfielder Yves Bissouma, and Brighton & Hove Albion centre-forward Evan Ferguson are just a few of the stars who have been linked with the club.
The West Yorkshire outfit are also reportedly eyeing a loan deal to sign Emiliano Buendia from Aston Villa, which would see him reunite with Farke, whom he thrived under at Norwich City.
Whilst there could be some high-profile, exciting, additions to the squad, there are also players in the current squad who are proof that players can turn their careers around.
For example, Leeds hit the jackpot when they decided to swoop for central defender Joe Rodon in the summer of 2023, despite his failure to make the grade at Tottenham Hotspur.
Why Leeds have hit the jackpot with Joe Rodon
The Whites initially signed the Wales international on loan from Spurs for the 2023/24 campaign, after he made just 24 appearances in all competitions in four years with the Premier League side.
Rodon went on to play 43 of the club’s 46 regular season matches and all three of their play-off games that term, forming partnerships with both Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu.
His form at the heart of the defence for the West Yorkshire outfit that season convinced the club to splash a reported fee of £10m out to sign him on a permanent basis from Spurs in the summer of 2024.
They were willing to take a gamble on a player who had not played much football after a difficult spell with Tottenham, and it is one that has paid off for the Whites.
Appearances
46
Starts
46
Pass accuracy
92%
Clean sheets
25
Dribbled past per game
0.1x
Ground duel success rate
68%
Aerial duel success rate
60%
As you can see in the table above, Rodon was incredibly important to Farke in the 2024/25 campaign, as he started every single league game in the Championship – the only player in the squad to do so.
The highlights in the post above from his performance against Oxford United in April showcase the kind of quality that he provided in and out of possession for the Whites.
Leeds hit the jackpot because they unearthed a centre-back with the defensive strength to keep out opposition attacks, whilst also having the ability on the ball to start attacks, and they could repeat the masterclass they played with Rodon by signing another former Spurs defender.
Leeds eyeing deal for Championship star
According to GIVEMESPORT, Leeds United are one of the teams eyeing up a potential move to sign Millwall star Japhet Tanganga in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Whites, Burnley and Sunderland are all plotting swoops to sign the English central defender ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, as they look to bolster their defensive options following promotion to the Premier League.
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This means that there could be plenty of competition for his services this summer, with a number of teams keen on snapping him up from the Lions, and that suggests that Leeds will have to move quickly if they want to bring him to Elland Road in the coming weeks.
GIVEMESPORT adds that he has a release clause in his Millwall contract that would allow all three of the interested teams to sign him for just under £2m, in what could be a bargain deal.
The report also claims that Leeds have been keeping tabs on Tanganga for a long time and that they view him as a player who could bolster their efforts to avoid relegation from the Premier League next season.
It is now down to the club to beat Sunderland and Burnley in the race for his signature this summer because he could be a Rodon repeat for the Whites.
Why Tanganga could be a Rodon repeat for Leeds
Like Rodon, the former England U21 international played for Spurs in the past but failed to make the grade as a regular starter for the Premier League outfit, playing 50 times in all competitions across four years in the first-team.
Tanganga joined Millwall on loan for the 2023/24 season before joining the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2024, and he has been a terrific performer in the Championship for the Lions.
The 26-year-old titan was provided with an opportunity to revive his career in the second tier with Millwall, as Rodon was with Leeds, and he has taken it with both hands with his displays in the last 18 months or so.
Pundit Carlton Palmer claimed that the defender is “capable of playing in the Premier League” because of his “tremendous recovery pace” and that he “is a cut above” the Championship, which is reflected in the statistics below.
Appearances
18
40
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.6
2.3
Clearances per game
3.3
5.4
Ground duel success rate
53%
61%
Aerial duel success rate
55%
63%
Dribbled past per game
0.2
0.3x
Clean sheets
5
14
As you can see in the table above, Tanganga is strong in duels with opposition attackers and rarely gets dribbled past, which speaks to his ‘tremendous recovery pace’.
This suggests that, as Palmer claimed, he has the physical attributes to be a success in the Premier League for Leeds if they decide to snap him up for a bargain fee of less than £2m this summer.
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Tanganga may not have made the grade at Spurs, just like Rodon, but that does not mean that he is not a quality operator, as shown by his form for Millwall, and that is why the Whites could repeat their Rodon blinder by signing the English star this summer.