How Leeds United's inside man in Joe Rodon Tottenham Hotspur deal can lead transfer breakthrough — YEP 26/6/24
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United's technical director Gretar Steinsson is a
former Tottenham Hotspur employee having previously undertaken the role of
performance director at the North London club.
The Whites' transfer hierarchy this summer has been
bolstered with the arrival of recruitment lead Jordan Miles from Aberdeen, but
as was the case last summer, it will be Steinsson and transfers consultant Nick
Hammond leading the search for incoming players and holding talks with clubs,
representatives and players.
Steinsson, who arrived last July, is overseeing the club's
summer recruitment alongside Hammond, who also remains at the club after an
initial successful posting during the transfer of ownership to 49ers
Enterprises 12 months ago.
The former Icelandic international is a regular fixture at
United matches, often sat alongside chief executive Angus Kinnear or chairman
Paraag Marathe whenever the American is visiting from the United States.
An ex-Premier League defender with Bolton Wanderers,
Steinsson held roles at Fleetwood Town, Everton and Spurs before arriving at
Leeds but has flown under the radar compared to his predecessor Victor Orta.
United's first loan signing of last summer saw Steinsson
hold negotiations with his former employer Tottenham over the signing of Joe
Rodon. Unlike Leeds' late-window business, the Rodon deal was tied up within
three weeks of the 42-year-old's arrival as technical director. Admittedly, the
transfer was anything but a solo endeavour as Kinnear also made use of his own
contacts to bridge the gap while the 49ers positioned their ducks in a row, but
the swiftness of negotiations was aided by the Icelander's arrival.
Deemed by some in the footballing world as a difficult club
to deal with in negotiations, Spurs have driven a hard bargain for their
players in recent years and Leeds' talks for Rodon this summer are unlikely to
be straightforward, not least because he is into the final year of his stay at
the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The North Londoners have already triggered an extension in
the Welsh defender's contract in order to protect their investment, despite all
parties acknowledging the player's future lies elsewhere. This is to ensure
Spurs receive a fee for the 26-year-old's services, should an interested party
- of which there will be plenty - meet the club's demands.
Leeds possess a unique advantage in having Steinsson lead
negotiations given he shares a prior working relationship with those who
brokered the loan move last summer, as well as having worked alongside several
key people at the club whose call it will be to decide Rodon's future.
Premier League sides do have the more obvious financial
advantage, which ultimately may prove the difference between an Elland Road
return and continuing his career elsewhere, but Rodon is believed to consider
Leeds his priority destination this summer.
Whilst sometimes clubs can enter into negotiations blind,
Leeds, via Steinsson, are well aware of how Spurs will seek to conduct their
Rodon business. It is not likely to be an uncomplicated process, the transfer
of multi-million pound assets rarely are, but it can be simplified to some
extent by United's man on the inside.
Should a deal be struck to bring Rodon back to LS11 on a
permanent basis, there is every chance the relationships fostered by Steinsson
in the past will have been leant on to secure one of the club's most consistent
players for another year and possibly several more.