There Were Also Even Doubts – Daniel Farke Delighted Leeds United Signed Star | OneFootball

Matt McNulty/Getty Images

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has called Joe Rodon his ‘warrior’ and credited him for being an utter professional, after the centre-back’s 100th consecutive game as a starter for the Whites.

Rodon signed for Leeds in 2024 for a fee of £10m from Tottenham Hotspur, after spending the previous season on loan with the Whites.

When he initially joined on loan, one former Leeds star explained that from all they had heard about him he looked to be a good acquisition.

Two top bosses at Tottenham made positive comments about Rodon, with Antonio Conte stressing he was seeing improvement in the centre-back, while Jose Mourinho was clear he was ‘happy’ with the Welshman.

Farke has now hailed Rodon for his attitude and for his thorough professionalism in all aspects including diet, sleep and fitness.

The Leeds boss dubbed the centre-back a ‘warrior’ and credited the defender for being a role model for the rest of the squad.

Farke told a press conference (12:30): “He’s my warrior, and also key player for us, and always there with an unbelievable attitude and it says a lot about him, and especially nowadays, to achieve these 100 games in a row is amazing on this level.

“And you just can achieve this if you are super professional in all aspects, you look after your body, you look after your recovery, after good nutrition, good sleep.

“And in these terms Joe’s a role model and always motivated, always there still improving also as a player.

“But we spoke about, there were also even a few doubts about him once we signed him, and spent, by our standards also proper amount of money for a signing in the Championship, but we were 100% convinced that he would also play an integral part hopefully in the Premier League and this is what he’s proving right now.

“I think there’s lots of consistency and excellent performances.”

Farke stated that there was always room for improvement before congratulating Rodon for a ‘fantastic’ achievement, for which he is very proud of the defender.

“Of course like always there are one or two games perhaps he could have done in this or that scene a bit better, but Joe is a really key integral part for my and our plans and a role model.

“Fantastic achievement and he should be very proud of himself and I’m definitely very proud of him.”

Skipper Ethan Ampadu echoed similar sentiments in November as he praised Rodon for setting standards at Leeds.

Farke revealed earlier in the season that he had given Rodon some ‘tough love’ as he aimed to improve the defender’s attacking output, with the centre-back contributing two goals in the league this season.

Leeds and Farke will be proud of the work they put in to identify and bring in Rodon, as they hope to bring in further reinforcements in future transfer windows.