Setback for Tottenham Hotspur as loan player confirmed to not be returning in January

Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Rodon will not return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Leeds United in January, as confirmed by Whites boss Daniel Farke in a recent interview.

Rodon has become an integral part of Leeds' backline, as they look to make an immediate return to the Premier League - however, Spurs may be disappointed that he won't be playing for them this season amid their current injury woes.

Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Farke said: “Joe will stay. He is an important player for my plans. It is important we have stability and no uncertainty, so he will stay with us. I am pleased with his development but he has to keep going. [He has been] Brilliant so far.”

Do Tottenham need defensive reinforcements?

Tottenham's game against Chelsea, where they were beaten by a score of 4-1, was disastrous for a number of reasons. Not only were Spurs thoroughly beaten by their bitter rivals, they also lost several players to both suspension and injury.

In the game, both Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero received their marching orders, the latter being shown a straight red card and to make matters worse, Micky Van de Ven was also ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury. They aren't the only defensive absences in Spurs' defence, either. Ivan Perisic is expected to be out for the rest of the 2023/24 season, while Ryan Sessegnon is set to make his return in mid-January. Spurs' makeshift back two, consisting of Eric Dier and Ben Davies, proved to be insufficient against Wolves as two late goals sunk them to a heartbreaking defeat in added time on Saturday afternoon. The aggression of Romero, as well as Van de Ven's technical ability, were both sorely missed.

Bringing back Rodon would have been an excellent way to plug the gaps in Spurs' defence - while he isn't ready to start every game for the Lilywhites, he would make for a fine rotation option.