Has he played his last game for us?

The news yesterday that Joe Rodon had suffered another ankle injury in training was a blow in itself for Steve Cooper but for many Swans fans it has now begged the question as to whether we have seen the last of Joe in a Swans shirt because of the injury.

There was a time a few months back where it looked almost certain that Joe Rodon would leave the club this summer.  As the Swans’ prized asset, the Wales international was set to command a large fee and move on from the Liberty after some hugely impressive performances for the first time.

And then football locked down, the pandemic escalated and when the game returned it looked a totally different prospect to the one that we knew back in February when the rumours were at full speed.  For many clubs outside maybe the top 6 or 8, the lack of income could be critical and nobody knows what the transfer market will look like in three weeks let alone three months.

“He picked in training on Sunday. It’s a fresh injury – it’s not a reoccurrence. It was a complete accident and it has fallen on the wrong boy because obviously he’s suffered with injuries over the past couple of years and worked so hard to get back. – Steve Cooper

Sure there are plenty of rumours and moves being lined up but these are largely involving the ‘giants’ of European football or at least those that have the luxury of a rich benefactor who brings the club through this period of closed door matches and vastly reduced income.

The simple fact probably remains that it is almost certain that the Swans need to sell Rodon whether they want to or not.  Whatever the state of the transfer market going forward he remains our most saleable asset and with our finances still recovering from the final dealings of the Premier League the fact of the matter has not changed.

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The question for us will remain whether someone is going to come in with an offer that matches the club’s required valuation and if they do will it meet the valuation that we may have had back in February.  Back then the reports suggested that £20m (or even more) could have been available and required but right now it is difficult to see too many sides lining up that kind of money.

I am sure either of the Manchester clubs could do it but that begs a question of whether City would even be interested (although it has been reported they are) or whether United would want to invest in a Swansea player again (although it fits in with their supposed ethos of young talent)  Outside of that we can probably rule out Liverpool and Chelsea which starts to limit the options not just for Joe but also for the Swans.

For what it is worth I do think that Joe probably has played his last game for the club, the question is how much will hit the Swans coffers if that prophecy turns out to be true?