Joe Rodon is among a host of Wales stars whose futures are up in the air right now.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey maybe grabbing the headlines when it comes to speculation over their next clubs, but there are a number of players in Rob Page's squad wo don't know where their club fates lie at present.
Joe Allen, Wayne Hennessey, Neco Williams, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Gunter, Danny Ward, Dylan Levitt and Rabbi Matondo - alongside Bale and Ramsey - will be spending the next couple of weeks assessing their options.
READ MORE: Gareth Bale surprised by Joe Rodon's Tottenham treatment
Rodon, too, has much to ponder. The former Swansea City centre-back has barely played for Tottenham since Antonio Conte arrived in north London. The Italian clearly thinks a lot of the 24-year-old but those feelings haven't translated into minutes on the pitch.
It's a situation that has left Rodon's international team-mates surprised.
"For me personally, I feel like he should be playing at Tottenham," said Bale last week. "I think he’s shown time and time again how good he is, I think personally when I was there last year, I felt he deserved to be playing.
"He’s a top professional, he doesn’t moan – he tries to moan but I tell him not to. I just say keep your head down, keep working because that way the manager can never use that excuse to not play you. So he is a very good professional, he’s a great young player.
"Of course he knows himself he should be playing week-in and week-out. He wants to be playing week-in and week-out. I don’t feel like he’s really had the opportunity to play a consistent run of games at Tottenham and I feel like if he did, he would be fantastic for them.
"Even if he has to go to another team, he’s going to strengthen that team no matter who it is. So he’s a great player, obviously a great friend and top professional as well."
Word coming out of the Spurs camp is that they'll allow Rodon to leave this summer - and Bale has given him a glowing recommendation. Premier League returnees Nottingham Forest have been heavily linked with the Welshman, along with Fulham and Wolves, but the man in charge at the City Ground could put the Reds in the box seat here.
Steve Cooper worked with Rodon at Swansea and it was clear from the outset the head coach rates the Llangyfelach product highly, revelling in his potential.
“I think Joe is a big player for us,” said Cooper back in 2019. “He has had a very good start to the season, and the exciting thing with Joe is he is only going to get better. I really believe in his potential. He is a right-footed centre-back playing on the left, which just shows his quality of how he can play with the ball.
“He is taking great responsibility, with and without the ball, and he is only going to grow in this environment. I think he is a really good player and I am enjoying working with him. He loves Swansea, he loves playing for the football club. He is proud to represent the club – those are his words not mine – and he is giving his all day in and day out.
“It’s a real honour to work with him and the guys every day as they only want to improve and support their team-mates. Joe is a fantastic example of that. If he keeps going as he only good things will happen for him with club and country.”
After playing a big part in Rodon's formative years, Cooper's reaction when he was sold to Tottenham in October 2020 was also telling. "I wasn't involved in the negotiations," Cooper said at the time. "I don't make those decisions on amounts for players coming in or out. I just give my view and that's what I've done.
"In terms of fees, salaries, contracts, things like that, that's not my remit. I didn't want him to go. Who would want one of their biggest assets to leave? Whatever I feel about it is irrelevant. He has gone."
Page says he wants his players to be featuring regularly for their clubs sides ahead of the World Cup in Qatar in November. On paper, Rodon to Forest looks like a very good move for all parties.
"In an ideal world, we want our players playing week-in and week-out but we’ve done alright up to now," said Page. "We’ve always had that sort of scenario where the players are turning up on camp, they’re not playing at club level but when they put the jersey on, they go and give an unbelievable performance and because of those performances, it’s why we are sat here today talking about the World Cup, so I’m not overly concerned about it.
"I’m going to use Joe Rodon as an example. I think Joe’s been outstanding. What he’s done in the games he has played for us has been exceptional, considering he’s not playing at club level.
"I think he can go to another level. He’s been very good, but I think there’s more to come from him. And I think he can achieve that by playing week-in and week-out at domestic level.
"He’s a Premiership player. If you were to draw a Premiership player, it’s Joe Rodon to a T, isn’t it? He’s got all the attributes, but he just needs to be playing week in and week out to sustain that level that he’s been giving us.”
