There's a very good chance Joe Rodon may have played his last game in a Tottenham shirt due to the deal the club have struck with Rennes for his services. In desperate need of a move away so he could feature regularly ahead of the World Cup, the 24-year-old completed a season-long loan switch to the French side on Monday evening.
Rennes do have the opportunity to sign the Wales international on a permanent deal at the end of his loan if they wish, with both sides agreeing on a €20million (£16.7million) option. If they take up that option then Spurs would make a profit on the player having paid an initial £11m plus add-ons back in October 2020.
The player's move to N17 just hasn't gone to play, making a total of 24 appearances in his two seasons with the club. Certainly not helped by injury and playing under four different managers, his move to Rennes will now give him the opportunity to play week in, week out ahead of the World Cup.
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Many may have expected him to secure a move to a fellow Premier League club but he has instead plumped for Rennes. There was no hesitation from Rodon in joining the Ligue 1 club and it was a deal that happened quite quickly.
“We needed two centre-backs following Warmed Omari's injury. Joe comes from a top club in England. He will bring us his experience, even if he did not play all the matches last season," technical director Florian Maurice told the French club's official website.
"He played in the European Cup, as we have seen at Roazhon Park in particular. He's a real central defender who likes to defend, he has that aggressive side that we need to allow us to be even more effective defensively.
"He is an international, a starter with Wales and will certainly be called up to play in the World Cup in November. We often talk about complementarity in central defence. They will all have to get to know each other. From Sunday and until November, a first sprint will be announced.
"We are going to need everyone because we are going to be faced with a high density of matches. It's up to us to put them in the right conditions so that they give the best when they are on the pitch.
"It went very quickly, there was no hesitation. He was enthusiastic about the Rennes project. He was there a few months ago to play against us and he was able to discover our team, the football we played and he was interested."
One of the big selling points to joining Les Rennais is that they are one of the most scouted teams in Europe. It's perhaps not hard to see why having seen Ousmane Dembele and Eduardo Camavinga come through the system before securing big-money moves elsewhere.
Numerous players have also departed Rennes for the Premier League in the past, including Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ismaila Sarr, Edouard Mendy and Raphinha. Last month, West Ham signed centre-back Nayef Aguerd from the French club for £30m, thus leaving a hole at the back that Rodon can instantly fill.
Given the notable examples of seeing their players move on to bigger and better things for sizeable fees, Rennes have a golden opportunity to turn Rodon into a star and sell him on for a lofty price in the future. If his loan move is to be a huge success, it will be a no-brainer for them to sign him permanently next summer.
It is certainly a deal that could come back and haunt Daniel Levy, Fabio Paratici and Tottenham later down the line. The agreement does also have similarities to Juan Foyth's permanent move to Villarreal one year ago.
Joining the Yellow Submarines after limited playing time under Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho, Spurs agreed on a loan for the Argentina international which also contained an option to buy permanently. The option was worth around £13m, which the Spanish side instantly took up after a standout campaign.
Foyth's performances in 2020/21 meant his market value had already exceeded the £13m by the time Villarreal bought him, highlighting an error on Spurs' part with the agreement in his loan. The versatile player still remains at Estadio de la Ceramica but his rise in La Liga has seen Real Madrid linked with him.
The agreement Tottenham have with Rennes may seem a fair price right now for a player that has had limited opportunities over the past 24 months, but Rodon's valuation could very well rise, as was the case with Foyth, if all goes to plan for him in France. Eyes will certainly be on him this campaign and things could get very interesting indeed later down the line if he hits top form and demonstrates why he is rated very highly at Tottenham.
Bitten in the past with the Foyth agreement, history could potentially repeat itself next summer if Rodon, as expected, shines for his new club.
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