Goals have been the headline from Rodrigo’s season up to now, but the unseen work he does behind the Leeds United scenes may go missing in the critique of his on-pitch contributions. While he’s not hit the heights of a club-record signing in Leeds, it can be easy to overlook his wider achievements in the game.
To someone as impressionable and keen to learn as Mateo Joseph, Rodrigo must be idolised. The 19-year-old has grown up in the same country, playing the same position as Rodrigo, while watching him play in La Liga and for Spain.
It’s hard to overestimate the impact on Joseph of looking across his first senior dressing room and seeing not only a role model, but a role model proactively looking to help him. Joseph has lit up the under-21 ranks with such ferocity this season it was impossible for Jesse Marsch not to promote him.
