Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing up a move for Valencia striker, Rodrigo along with Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion. The 27-year-old is currently in red-hot form and have netted the ball 4 times in his last 3 league games.
His contract with the La Liga outfit has been induced with a release clause of £104m (€120m) and is set to run till the summer of 2022. A warning sign for every suitor including Tottenham, who are prepared to offer €40m only.
Rodrigo is a product of the Real Madrid youth academy. He represented the Galacticos B and C teams in 22 league games while scoring on 5 occasions. Failing to break into the first team, Rodrigo was signed up by Benfica which stated that Madrid could buy the player back in the future.
After Fabio Coentrao’s transfer to Los Blancos, the buy-back deal was cancelled out and Rodrigo became Benfica’s permanent signing. He was immediately sent out on loan to Bolton Wanderers for further development and the Brazilian struggled with just one goal in 21 total appearances.
However, the return to Estadio da Luiz was much more illustrious with the striker scoring 16 goals in 38 total appearances. Valencia’s owner, Lim set up a loan move for Rodrigo ahead of the 2014/15 season along with teammate, Andre Gomes. In the summer of 2015, the move was made permanent for a fee of €30m.
Rodrigo is one those versatile attackers who can play in any position in the final third. Primarily he is a striker with a brilliant left-foot and a keen eye for goal. A strong body with quick feet is a rare combination which will come handy for Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs have improved upon their mid-table club status over the past few seasons and have risen to the occasion of challenging for the title. They currently sit in the 4th spot of the points table and the team is slowly chipping their way towards major club honours.
Their Champions League performances have been impressive this season, right until the second leg of the Round of 16 tie against Juventus. They, unfortunately, fell to the experience of the previous year runners-up and somehow managed to lose the tie within just 5 minutes of poor decision making.
Pochettino have been met with quite a few problems this season which needs to be addressed ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. Squad depth is highly necessary to compete against elite teams in multiple competitions.
The attack already has first-choice regulars like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung Son-min. However, the latter might not be with the club for the next 2 seasons, as he might leave to serve in his country’s army. In his absence, Rodrigo can be a perfect fit on the left.
