Leeds United Joe Rodon boost as Premier League transfer rivals make Hull City man 'first-choice target' amid £10m claim

Leeds United may enjoy less competition for Joe Rodon with recent reports suggesting a potential transfer rival has made Hull City’s Jacob Greaves their ‘first-choice’ defensive target.

Rodon would happily be welcomed back at Leeds after an outstanding season on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, with the Welshman almost ever-present in the back-four from September onwards. 46 Championship appearances saw the centre-back partner both Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu on the way to a league-best 19 clean sheets during the regular campaign, plus two more in the play-offs semi-final meetings with Norwich City.

Defeat against Southampton in the play-off final consigned Leeds to another year of second-tier football, however, and made the task of securing Rodon on a permanent deal more difficult from a financial perspective. Furthermore, recent reports have named all three sides who pipped the Whites to promotion as alternative suitors, with Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town interested.

But according to The Telegraph, the latter’s priorities lay elsewhere with Hull defender Greaves the ‘first-choice’ target for Ipswich. Manager Kieran McKenna has made additions at the back a key point of focus and looks to have set his sights on Greaves, who also enjoyed an impressive campaign in the Championship.

The 23-year-old played 43 Championship games for Hull - only Alfie Jones got more minutes - and is seen as a more long-term option with higher potential than the 26-year-old Rodon. Everton have long had Greaves on their shortlist of potential Jarrad Branthwaite replacements but Ipswich look set to test Hull’s resolve.

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A naturally left-footed defender, Greaves would operate on the other side to Rodon but with a small budget and reinforcements needed across the board, it may be that Ipswich only have the funds for one major addition in the heart of defence. Leicester and Southampton are both thought to remain keen on Rodon, however, meaning a return to Elland Road is still some way off looking likely.

Key to any permanent move will be the finances and Leeds were boosted earlier in the week by reports that Tottenham would accept a reduced fee in the region of £10m for Rodon. Spurs were initially thought to want around £15m for the centre-back last summer before loaning him out to Leeds, with the expectation being that amount would remain the same after a strong showing in the Championship.

A £10m fee would place Rodon in a similar ball-park to Welsh teammate Ampadu, who moved from Chelsea to Leeds for £7m last year - an amount now widely seen as a good deal following an excellent season in West Yorkshire. It would still present a large proportion of this summer’s budget, however, at a time when those in charge at Elland Road are working hard to cut costs, rather than add to them.

Leeds might hope to follow the example set by Southampton last summer, when they took Taylor Harwood-Bellis on loan from Premier League champions Manchester City. The Saints agreed an option to buy the young defender for £20m, although that was only triggered following their promotion last month and so protected them financially, had they not gone up. That would likely need Tottenham to compromise financially, however, something chairman Daniel Levy is not known for.