Leeds United might have £3.8m regret amid Joe Rodon threat | OneFootball

Leeds United sold Charlie Cresswell on the cheap to Toulouse, and they may live to regret that sale with Joe Rodon on the brink of suspension

Boasting a six-match unbeaten run in the Championship, Leeds United's promotion push is going from strength-to-strength.

Right now, Daniel Farke's side probably feel invincible and like nothing can bring them down, but they may soon be dealt a blow with Joe Rodon walking a disciplinary tightrope.

The Wales international has been booked four times already in the Championship this season, and with five bookings before the 19th game of the season yielding a one-match ban, Leeds must be fearing that they're soon going to have to deal without their defensive stalwart.

Taking Rodon out of the heart of the Leeds defence would be a crushing blow for the promotion challengers given he's started every game this season, playing a full 90 minutes in all but one.

Reinforcements behind Rodon are few and far between at the moment, with injuries a leading cause.

But Leeds could've had an able understudy waiting in the wings to take over in Charlie Cresswell, but his £3.8m summer move to Toulouse leaves them a little light at the back.

Losing Rodon would be a crushing blow for Leeds

Continuity has been a massive part of Leeds' success this season, with a centre back pairing of Rodon and Pascal Struijk starting every Leeds league game this season.

That would go some way to explaining why the Yorkshire outfit have conceded a measly eight league goals this season - that's the least amount of goals they've conceded after 11 Championship games since 2019/20, and Leeds fans will need no reminding that that was the season that ended in promotion.

The word 'promotion' will still be a taboo word at Leeds just yet, with the season still in its early stages, but the signs are positive thus far.

Farke will know though that losing Rodon could scupper his plans to get Leeds back to the top-flight at the second time of asking, but it's an eventuality he'll have to prepare for at some point as the law of averages suggests it's highly unlikely Rodon won't pick up a single yellow card across their next eight matches.

With a series of winnable fixtures on the horizon, Leeds need a full contingent available to pick from as they seek to keep their momentum going, and with thier 2-1 midweek win at Watford seeing them fail to name a senior centre back on the bench, it makes the sale of Cresswell seem like one they could live to regret.

Leeds may live to regret selling Cresswell on the cheap

A product of the Leeds academy, first team opportunites were few and far between for Cresswell at the club, playing just 14 times.

He made a bit of a name for himself in 2022/23 on loan at Millwall where he became a Championship regular, scoring an impressive five goals and perhaps most importantly, picking up only four yellow cards all season. For context, Rodon managed four in nine league games this season!

He was out of favour last season, playing no more than a bit part role as Leeds reached the play-off final, but with a mini-defensive crisis at the moment, he would probably have got the chance to become an Elland Road regular at some point in the season's infancy.

A no-nonsense defender, Cresswell certainly fits the Championship mold and would've been at the very least an able replacement should Rodon become suspended.