GARETH BALE has told Antonio Conte that Joe Rodon should be playing for Tottenham.
Rodon made just ten appearances in all competitions at club level last season and the centre-back has been tipped to leave Spurs this summer with Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Brighton all linked to the 24-year-old.
Wales star Joe Rodon only featured ten times for Tottenham last seasonCredit: GettyGareth Bale believes Spurs are making a mistake in not playing him moreCredit: Getty
Despite the lack of game time, the defender helped Wales book a World Cup finals spot with impressive play-off displays against Austria and Ukraine.
And Bale, a former Tottenham team-mate, reckons Rodon will be a smash hit in the Premier League if he leaves Conte’s Champions League qualifying side.
Wales captain Bale said: “For me personally, I feel like he should be playing at Tottenham. He’s shown time and time again how good he is, I think personally when I was there last year, I felt he deserved to be playing.
“He’s a top professional, he doesn’t moan – he tries to moan but I tell him not to. I just say keep your head down, keep working because that way the manager can never use that excuse to not play you. So he is a very good professional, he’s a great young player.
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“Of course he knows himself he should be playing week-in and week-out. He wants to be playing week-in and week-out. I don’t feel like he’s really had the opportunity to play a consistent run of games at Tottenham and I feel like if he did, he would be fantastic for them.
“Even if he has to go to another team, he’s going to strengthen that team no matter who it is. So he’s a great player, obviously a great friend and top professional as well.”
With the World Cup in Qatar in November, Wales boss Rob Page is eager to see his top stars playing regularly at club level.
Rodon failed to get a move away from Spurs in January and Page reckons the ex-Swansea star, who cost Tottenham £12million, can go to another level if he avoids sitting on the bench.
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Page added: “In an ideal world, we want our players playing week-in and week-out but we’ve done alright up to now.
“We’ve always had that sort of scenario where the players are turning up on camp, they’re not playing at club level but when they put the jersey on, they go and give an unbelievable performance and because of those performances, it’s why we are sat here today talking about the World Cup, so I’m not overly concerned about it.
“I’m going to use Joe Rodon as an example. I think Joe’s been outstanding. What he’s done in the games he has played for us has been exceptional, considering he’s not playing at club level.
“He can go to another level. He’s been very good, but I think there’s more to come from him. And I think he can achieve that by playing week-in and week-out at domestic level.
“He’s a Premiership player. If you were to draw a Premiership player, it’s Joe Rodon to a T, isn’t it? He’s got all the attributes, but he just needs to be playing week in and week out to sustain that level that he’s been giving us.”
