Rodon Has Got His Move: Who Else Needs One?


Joe Rodon has moved to Leeds from Spurs in a deal worth £10m.

The centre back re-joins the club where he was at loan for last season, having apparently turned down an opportunity to join Premier League clubs.

Rodon formed a brilliant centre back partnership with Wales teammate Ethan Ampadu at Elland Road last season and both will be hoping to play a part in getting Leeds promoted having lost in the play-off final to Southampton.

Rob Page pushed for a number of players to make moves in January in search of Premier League football, now Sportin Wales takes a look at the Wales regular who need to move as they look for first team football ahead of the new season.

Danny Ward

In truth this could have been any of the four goalkeepers selected in Rob Page’s last squad, however as the incumbent of Wales’ number one jersey, Ward is perhaps the most obvious option.

For his squad to face Finland and Poland, Page selected Ward, Wayne Hennessey, Adam Davies and Tom King.

Of those, only Davies made an appearance last season for his club’s first team, a solitary appearance for Sheffield Utd in the EFL cup.

With Ward down as third choice at Leicester it may be a good time to move, however, he may fancy his chances of fighting for his place under new manager Steve Cooper.

Elsewhere, Hennessey is now a free agent and will be looking for a new club after his contract at Nottingham Forest came to an end.

Chris Mepham

Another who is third choice at his club and first choice for Wales, Mepham finds himself behind Marcos Senesi and Illya Zabarnyi in the pecking order at Bournemouth.

The former Brentford man admitted in January that he was not happy settling for a squad role under Andoni Iraola but failed to find a move.

Mepham is 26-years-old now, approaching a half-century of caps for Wales, and another season of just six league starts will not help him make a good impression with the next national team manager.

Ben Davies

Wales’ resident vice-captain has fallen out of favour somewhat since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, starting 12 times in the league thanks to numerous injuries to Cristian Romero and Micky van der Ven throughout the campaign.

Davies is 31 now and likely to be Wales’ next permanent captain. He needs to be first choice for his club and, since the sacking of Antonio Conte, has not be that at Tottenham.

The former Swansea left-back has transformed into an excellent on-ball centre-half in recent seasons and is still of Premier League quality. He may need to take a step down in order to become a regular again, with the likes of Crystal Palace, Brighton, and Wolves looking like attractive options for him.

Connor Roberts

After starring in Burnley’s 2022/23 promotion campaign, Roberts then struggled to find a regular place in the first team last season, eventually moving to Leeds United on loan in January.

The former Swansea man only started two games for the Yorkshire club and returns to Burnley looking for a move away.

Burnley’s managerial situation – Vincent Kompany has left for Bayern Munich, leaving Craig Bellamy in temporary charge – may mean that Roberts hangs tight until there is more clarity, with the potential for Bellamy’s role to be made permanent working in his favour.

Jordan James

James’ Birmingham City exit has been trailed ever since the Midlands club was relegated to League One at the end of the season. Despite his club’s travails, James had an excellent season, scoring eight times and establishing himself as part of Wales’ regular midfield two with Ethan Ampadu.

James, 19, is aerially strong, solid on the ball, and a goal threat from midfield. These qualities attracted the eyes of Italian sides Atalanta and Fiorentina in January and now Premier League sides are taking notice too.

West Ham, Leicester, and mostly recently Nottingham Forest have all been linked, but Atalanta and the prospect of Champions League football looks the most enticing.

David Brooks

Having missed almost all of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons due to a cancer diagnosis, Brooks started last season looking to put a run of games together for Bournemouth. The former Sheffield United man found it difficult to break back into the team and subsequently went on loan to Championship side Southampton in January.

Brooks did find more regular football at St Mary’s, starting 11 times in the league and helping the Saints to promotion to the Premier League.

Whether Southampton are an option for a permanent move is unknown, but Brooks needs to find a home away from Bournemouth

Lewis Koumas

While most on this list are looking for a permanent move, the question for Koumas is where he will be likely going on loan for the upcoming season.

Having broken into the Liverpool first team squad in the New Year, Koumas may bide his time this summer with the arrival of new manager Arne Slot.

Koumas will likely be included in Liverpool’s first team preseason and summer tour so we may have to wait until later in the summer for confirmation of his future. The 18-year-old was linked to Championship clubs in January and will no doubt find some suitors if he is to go on loan away from Liverpool

Kieffer Moore

Another who had a January loan, Moore went to Championship high-fliers Ipswich on a temporary basis from Bournemouth. After an excellent initial run of form, Moore found it hard to retain a starting spot in Kieran McKenna’s line-up.

With Moore largely unsuited to Iraola’s style of football and firmly a back-up to Dominic Solanke, the Wales forward may be looking to return to Portman Road on a permanent deal ahead of the 2023/24 season.