Leeds United forward Rodrigo is attracting increasing interest in the summer transfer window.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by Turkish media outlet Takvim, who revealed that, despite Galatasaray having reached an agreement with Cagliari for the transfer of Joao Pedro, the deal is now in doubt due to the 30-year-old’s agents demanding an unacceptable commission for their work in negotiating the forward’s move.
As a result, the Super Lig side are said to have now turned their attention to Leeds forward Rodrigo, with talks regarding a €12m (£10m) deal for the 31-year-old Spain international between the two clubs believed to have already started.
Supporters will be buzzing
While it is true that selling a player for less than half of the £26m fee Leeds paid for Rodrigo will be a bitter pill to swallow for Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani, considering how mediocre the forward has been since his 2020 arrival, coupled with his extremely hefty weekly wage, the news that the Whites could get the Spaniard off of their books this summer is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful buzzing.
Indeed, over his 31 Premier League appearances last season, the £10.8m-rated forward badly struggled for form in Jesse Marsch’s side, scoring six goals, registering one assist and missing five big chances, as well as hitting the target with an average of just 0.6 shots, losing possession 11.5 times and completing a mere 21.2 passes per game.
These returns saw the £100k-per-week player who Beren Cross dubbed “anonymous” average an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.80, ranking him as the Whites’ tenth-best performer in the league last time out.
The argument could be made that these metrics are not overly disastrous, however, considering Orta paid a club-record fee for the 31-year-old, in addition to Rodrigo being by far and away Leeds’ highest earner, much more output will have undoubtedly been expected from the forward.
Indeed, it would appear that is an opinion shared by many Leeds supporters, with the vast majority revealing in a poll ran by Football FanCast that they think the 27-cap international should be sold this summer.
As such, while it is true that the Whites and Galatasaray do not have the best relationship, should the Turkish side agree a deal to take Rodrigo off of Leeds’ hands this summer, it would certainly look to be a favourable outcome for all involved with the club.
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