Expectation and pressure has been there for Rodrigo since the day he walked through the door at Leeds United in August 2020. When you demand a transfer fee larger than any footballer in the history of the football club you cannot expect to be given time and patience.
The Whites were buying Spain’s number nine and expected the output to come with that tag. It’s been a largely difficult 19 months at Elland Road for Rodrigo, beset by injuries, illness, poor form and a high-pressing system he was inexperienced with.
The lowest ebb almost certainly came on the night Aston Villa turned the crowd on the Elland Road directors’ box. A 3-0 loss proved to be the seventh defeat in eight matches and a fourth consecutive game in which Rodrigo proved too inconsistent to either start or finish 90 minutes.
