Phil Hay believes Joe Rodon will return to Leeds United’s starting lineup against Southampton.
Hay was speaking on the current episode of the Square Ball Podcast, where he discussed Leeds United’s trip to St. Mary’s and whether or not Daniel Farke will make any changes to his starting lineup.
Rodon was suspended for last weekend’s 3-0 triumph over Watford after receiving a red card in the previous day’s 0-0 draw with Hull City.
Liam Cooper was the man who deputised for him in what was his first start since the opening day of the season after making a full recovery from his injury.
Captain Cooper was solid on his return to the side but his inclusion meant Leeds were playing with two left-footed centre-backs, which did hinder them at times.
Hay says Rodon will return to Leeds XI
With Rodon now back in contention for selection, Hay is fully expecting him to come straight back into the side given the form he was in prior to his suspension.
He said: “Now, yeah, actually, yes. He will come back in because it was a one game ban. I will be really, really surprised if he doesn’t. He has been terrific, I don’t think in this form you can leave Rodon out.”
Rodon simply needs to be included in the starting lineup against Southampton in order to offer Leeds with more balance when playing out from the back down the right flank.
Furthermore, before to his suspension, Rodon was beginning to look superb, with his performance at Millwall and first hour at Hull City being particularly assured.
Leeds have another busy week ahead of them, so Farke will certainly rotate his squad at some time, allowing Cooper to start, but Rodon’s return should be a foregone conclusion.
Leave a Reply