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.
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Hooked at half-time in the Villa defeat with a miserable display, Rodrigo became something of a lightning rod for fans and Jesse Marsch knew clear-the-air talks were needed. “He and I have gotten to know each other really well in the last few days and had some really good conversations and talked a lot about what my vision is for him, what my vision is for the team and how he can help and how he can continue to believe in this transformation,” he said after the Norwich City win.
As a fresh face in the Premier League with Leeds and such inconsistent displays behind him, it has been easy to forget just how much seniority Rodrigo has in the dressing room. At 31, Mateusz Klich is the only player in the squad older than the former Valencia forward.
Marsch would draft that experience and international perspective into his leadership council. Those talks and that show of faith have proved to be the making of Rodrigo, who has scored three in four and found his stock higher than ever in Hertfordshire last weekend.
“I had another individual conversation with Rodrigo and I told him how important he is and he has to be a big part of the solution of where we need to go, moving forward,” Marsch would say after the Norwich victory.
“He is an incredible young man, he's an honest man, he's willing to have hard conversations and open conversations. I know he wants to help and I'm just trying to instil belief and instil an idea of how he fits in and how off the field, and on the field, he can be a massive presence for the entire team.”
Leeds have not found a consistent groove under Marsch across his six-match tenure and Rodrigo has not been flawless, but his grit, effort and drive have inspired the team. All three of his recent strikes have come from second-balls or errors and relied on his anticipation to capitalise.
In Patrick Bamford’s absence, Rodrigo has stepped up to become the leader of the attack, the Raphinha whisperer and, most recently, the subject of the fans’ favourite new chant. The video clips of post-match at Vicarage Road said it all about the connection Rodrigo has found with the support.
Decent team displays or not, the Spaniard is finding the goals which have led the club to the brink of safety. As the support serenaded him, he handed over his shirt and moved for the tunnel before being turned around by Kalvin Phillips for a few more deserved choruses from the adoring public.
The club’s record signing remains an immensely important figure in this run-in and has to look for a strong finish to this season ahead of a monumental autumn leading into the World Cup.
