Why Joe Rodon to Manchester City would be a smart signing
According to Daily Mail, Manchester City are monitoring Swansea City centre-back Joe Rodon in the summer. The report suggests that City want two central defenders and are also keen on Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell.
Joe Rodon, 22, came through Swansea’s youth ranks and spent six months on loan with Cheltenham Town. He shot to prominence on his return after being a consistent member of the Swans last season.
He started the current campaign on a high and also earned his Wales debut in September. However, the youngster was out of action from October due to an ankle injury, only returning to feature against Stoke City at the end of last month.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have struggled to find the right solution to their defensive crisis so far. Despite being ruthless up front, they haven’t been as dominant as the previous two campaigns. They currently sit 2nd in the league table, 22 points behind league leaders Liverpool.
The failure to sign a replacement for Vincent Kompany has cost them and Aymeric Laporte’s absence has further added to their problems. Englishman John Stones has fallen down the pecking order in recent times and Nicolas Otamendi has been prone to making errors.
As a result, Pep Guardiola turned to Fernandinho and has deputized him in the heart of the defence for the majority of the season. Despite the Brazilian performing decently, he lacks a solid and consistent partner. This has led to the club conceding 29 goals so far, which is higher than the 23 goals they conceded throughout the last campaign.
Their defence has cost them points and hence, Guardiola should consider signing Joe Rodon. The 22-year-old has featured in 15 Championship games, helping the team maintain 4 clean sheets. Despite missing action for more than three months, he featured for the full 90 minutes against Preston North End last weekend.
Rodon has registered an average of 0.9 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 4.4 clearances per game this season in the second-tier, as per Whoscored. He has also enjoyed a pass success rate of 83.9%.
Verdict
With City struggling at the back, they need a centre-back and the Welsh international would be a useful addition to the squad.
Therefore, Manchester City should do everything possible to lure the youngster to the Etihad in the summer.
