‘Send him back!’: Tottenham seal late £15m swoop for Joe Rodon from Swansea… but his Wales team-mates Gareth Bale and Ben Davies jokingly try to STOP him arriving at the Spurs training ground to complete his dream move!
- Tottenham have completed a £15m deal for Swansea City defender Joe Rodon
- The 22-year-old is Jose Mourinho’s seventh new face of the transfer window
- Rodon joins on a initial £11million deal with another £4m in potential add-ons
- The centre-back has seven caps for Wales and played in the 3-0 loss to England
Tottenham have completed the signing of Swansea City defender Joe Rodon for £15million – despite Gareth Bale’s joke remark to ‘send him back’ to Wales in his announcement video.
The 22-year-old Welsh centre-back is Jose Mourinho’s seventh new face of the summer and autumn window, with Rodon moving for a reported £11million initial fee, with another £4million in potential add-ons.
On a Twitter video announcing Rodon’s transfer on a five-year deal, fellow Wales internationals Bale and Ben Davies ‘refused’ to let him in to Tottenham’s training centre to complete his deal.
Tottenham have completed the signing of long-term defensive target Joe Rodon from Swansea
Fellow Spurs and Wales player Gareth Bale (above) told security not to tell Rodon into training
Though despite the media antics, Rodon told the Spurs official website that Bale and Davies were big reasons why he opted to join Tottenham this summer.
He said on Friday: ‘It’s a great story and to join Ben here now is even better for me. Ben and Gareth are two massive players for Wales, and hopefully they can help me settle in quickly and make me feel even more welcome.’
‘As everyone knows, Jose Mourinho is one of the biggest managers in the world, and all I can do is be excited, learn every day and hopefully take it all on board.
Rodon’s arrival will give Spurs boss Jose Mourinho (right) more options in his back line
‘I’m not looking too far, just to take each day as it comes, hopefully improve and become a better player, and take it from there.’
Rodon also paid tribute to the club he is about to team up with as they try to make an early claim for the top-four spots in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old added: ‘It’s a massive honour. This is a massive club, and I can’t wait to get started.
‘Coming from my boyhood club to this position is only something I could have dreamed of.
‘It’s been a great week and to finish it off in this way is a dream come true.’
Rodon came through the Swansea youth ranks and made his first-team debut in 2018
Spurs, who have handed Rodon the number 14 shirt, tried to purchase the Swansea centre-back during the original deadline day on October 5, though failed with a £7million bid.
The defender, who the Swans tried to sell for £18million, is a product of the Swansea City academy and first broke into the side following the club’s relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
Rodon made 54 appearances in total for the Swans, though failed to find the net in any of them.
The defender started Wales’ 3-0 defeat to England this month but was taken off at half-time
On Friday, the Championship completed a deal for Manchester City defender Joel Latibeaudiere on a three-year deal, who is believed to be Rodon’s replacement.
Following his breakthrough season in the 2018-19 campaign, the centre-half was called up to Ryan Giggs’ Wales squad for the first time and has made seven senior international appearances.
Rodon started Wales’ 3-0 defeat to England last week during the international break just gone though was taken off at half-time with Giggs’ side trailing at the interval.
Rodon made 54 career appearances for Swansea along with seven international caps for Wales
The Wales defender could well be part of a new-look back line for Mourinho, who also brought in full-backs Matt Doherty and Sergi Reguilon from Wolves and Real Madrid respectively in the window.
Rodon is likely to compete for a starting spot with Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Toby Aldeweireld, while Japhet Tanganga remains sidelined with injury.
Mourinho has also brought in midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton, goalkeeper Joe Hart on a free transfer and attackers Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale on loan.