Joe Rodon representing the Wales national team. (Getty Images)
According to Manchester Evening News (h/t Wales Online), Manchester United are interested in Swansea City centre-back Joe Rodon, who is rated at £20m by the Championship club.
As per the report, Rodon has attracted interest from several top clubs after yet another impressive campaign in the second-tier.
Joe Rodon rose through the youth ranks of hometown club Swansea City and initially featured for the Swans’ U-23 side before joining League Two outfit Cheltenham Town on loan during the second half of the 2017-18 campaign.
The 22-year-old enjoyed his senior breakthrough at Swansea under the stewardship of Graham Potter during the 2018-19 campaign, catching the eye with his talent and potential in his debut season.
The Welsh starlet followed it up with 21 league appearances last term before being sidelined with a serious injury that ruled him out for all of Swansea’s fixtures following the restart.
Make no mistake, Joe Rodon is a really exciting prospect with loads of potential, as evident from his rapid rise to prominence in the EFL Championship. Plus, he’s only going to get better with time, so Rodon perfectly fits the bill as an excellent long-term investment for any top PL club.
However, a move to Old Trafford this summer might not be ideal for either party due to a number of reasons.
First and foremost, United conceded only 36 goals en route to their 3rd-place finish in the league last term. This was the third-best defensive record in the entire division. It was a significant upgrade on their defensive numbers from the 2018-19 campaign, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side shipped 54 goals and finished 6th.
Clearly, United reaped the benefits of spending a combined £130m to bolster their defence with the acquisition of Harry Maguire (£80m) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£50m) last summer. The central defensive pairing of Maguire and Victor Lindelof was good last season and laid down a solid platform for the attackers to play some lovely free-flowing attacking football.
To that end, it’s clear that United have already sorted out their defensive problems and they don’t need to bring in another centre-back after spending big on Maguire last summer.
Secondly, United already have the likes of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, and Axel Tuanzebe to provide cover for Maguire and Lindelof. Yes, all the three aforementioned players have had their fair share of injury issues. But the Red Devils just can’t afford to bring in another first-team quality central defender without offloading some of the existing names.
Rodon certainly has the talent to cut the mustard in the Premier League but he would find it incredibly difficult to survive amid such stiff competition for places.
Despite his obvious talent, Man United would be better off avoiding a move for Joe Rodon, simply because they don’t need a new central defender this summer. On the contrary, the Red Devils might as well look for some quality additions to their forward line that could set them up well for a title-winning campaign.