In a summer of upgrading their squad, Leeds United have not neglected what they already have by signing a second key player up to a new contract.

Joe Rodon has committed to a new deal which runs until the summer of 2030.

He follows in the footsteps of his good friend and Wales team-mate Ethan Ampadu, who signed a new deal covering the same period at the start of the summer.

Ampadu is Leeds' captain and a very influential one at that.

Rodon, who spent his off-season in America working on his fitness with the 25-year-old former Sheffield United loanee, is a strong candidate to be Ampadu's vice-captain after the departure of Pascal Struijk, who has joined Brighton and Hove Albion.

Having initially joined on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur which was made permanent in 2024, Rodon has started 111 of manager Daniel Farke's 130 league matches in charge, coming off the bench in another three. It is more than any other Leeds player in that three-year period.

Rodon's excellent one-on-one qualities make him a good player to anchor the Whites' preferred three-man defensive formation, but he is showing increasing improvement in the over- and under-lapping side of the right-sided centre-back role as Leeds develop into the shape, allowing Farke to field him alongside Jaka Bijol rather than be forced to choose between the pair.

Farke has also made a point of how Rodon has greatly improved his effectiveness at attacking set pieces in his time at Elland Road, although three goals is not much to show for it.