Tottenham's failure to bring in a new centre-back so far this summer will open up the door for the defenders currently at the club to make their case to Ange Postecoglou. A problem position for the team last campaign and a major reason for their failure to qualify for Europe after conceding 63 goals in 38 Premier League fixtures, it is very much Tottenham's top priority in the transfer market.
football.london understands that Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo remains high on the club's list of potential centre-back signings which also includes Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven. All will be hoping that a new defender or two are in place by the time the team jet off to Australia to begin their pre-season tour, thus giving Postecoglou ample time to work with them ahead of the start of the 2023/24 season.
A position where there needs to be change in order for Tottenham to hit the next level, there are question marks over a handful of centre-backs currently at the club. Opportunities will be there for them in pre-season and a change in management could possibly bring in some from the cold if Postecoglou takes a shine to them.
Joe Rodon will be hoping that is very much the case for him as he starts his fourth season as a Spurs player. Playing a bit-part role in his time in north London after only appearing 24 times for the Lilywhites, the Welshman was given the green light to depart on loan 12 months ago and he headed to France to link up with Rennes on a season-long deal.
Starting the season in the team and impressing, the 25-year-old had a couple of periods where it was very much stop-start for him as he found himself on the substitutes' bench. In total, the Welshman made 22 appearances for Rennes and scored one goal in his spell at Roazhon Park.
Tipped to be one of the centre-backs to exit this summer as he looks to feature regularly after limited football over the past three seasons, Postecoglou will take a look at Tottenham's No.22 before a final decision over his future is made. That in essence leaves the player with four games to catch the head coach's eye and become a big part of his plans for the upcoming season.
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With a number of Tottenham players, including Djed Spence, Emerson Royal and Tanguy Ndombele, returning to pre-season training at Hotspur Way on Saturday for the first day of Postecoglou's Tottenham tenure, Rodon was one of those not present at the club's Enfield base. As is always the case in pre-season, it will very much be a staggered return for the playing squad given a large chunk of them have been involved in international action this summer.
Rodon falls into that category after playing in Wales' European qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. As players are contractually allowed to have 21 consecutive days of rest after their final matches they were involved in, some could start returning from July 9, with most expected on July 12. That will in turn give them a few days with the rest of the squad at Hotspur Way before they make the long journey to Perth.
Starting their pre-season schedule with a game against London rivals West Ham at Optus Stadium on Tuesday, July 18, Spurs will then head to Bangkok five days later for a friendly with Leicester City. Departing Asia following their encounter against Roma in Singapore, the Lilywhites will round off their summer preparations with a home clash vs Shakhtar Donetsk a week before they make the trip to Brentford.
An opportunity for Rodon to impress Postecoglou providing that a move away does not come to fruition before then, the ex-Swansea City man will be hoping for better luck this summer given what happened in 2022. Discovering on the day of departure for their tour of South Korea that he would not be making the trip due to illness, Rodon's first pre-season game came in the 2-1 win away at Rangers as he entered the fray midway inside the second half.
The player's pre-season action totalled just 24 minutes as he was not part of the travelling squad for their final friendly in Israel vs Roma so he could instead finalise a loan move to Rennes. A summer of uncertainty for the player at present, there's the potential for one of last season's loan stars to come back into the plans and make a name for himself under Postecoglou.
Rodon has four games to show the Australian that he still has so much to offer Tottenham and save his Spurs career in the process.
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