In footballing terms he's hugely valuable to the Swans already, but what I want to focus on here is his financial value should a couple of scenarios unfold.
Scenario 1: He leaves at the end of his contract, at the end of the season, and moves to another club. In this eventuality SCFC would still get compensation - and we already know pretty much what that would be: Under EPPP rules, as a graduate of a Category One academy, we would get £3,000 pa for ages 9 to 11, £40,000 a year for ages 12 to 16 and £25,000 for every appearance for club at senior level. As things stand, with 10 games under his belt, we would get £234,000. If, by the end of the season he's played 40 games we would get £309,000 in total.
Scenario 2: Rodon signs a new contract and plays 40 games for the club until the end of the season. He also gains a few caps for Wales in friendlies and possibly Euro qualifiers. It's hard to be sure what his value to the club would be in this scenario, but there's a very useful benchmark in Chris Mepham, of Brentford. I've seen Mepham and Rodon play alongside each other in the heart of the Wales U23s defence on a few occasions, and both have impressed equally. Mepham got his breakthrough season at Brentford last season, and on the back of that he managed 4 caps in the end-of-season friendlies. Brentford turned down a bid of £10 million from Bournemouth in June. Interestingly Brentford turned down a £5.5 million bid from Bournemouth in January - obviously a smart move. There was also talk of Leicester lining up a £15 million bid for Mepham had Maguire moved on. On the basis of the above, I think it's reasonable to assume that Rodon would be worth around £5 million in January if he continues to play and remain fit. That's likely to rise to £10 million come the end of season, perhaps more if he plays a number of times for Wales.
It's basic business sense that we need to sign Rodon. Of course Rodon's agent will be aware of all of the above, and so will be in a good position to drive a hard bargain. However, having Potter as Rodon's manager should be a strong factor in the club's negotiating position, simply from a professional development point of view, as a premature move could easily backfire. But we're going to have to be generous with any offer we make. Rodon's worth it.
Question is - do we have smart enough owners to recognise the importance of giving long new contracts to Rodon, Roberts, Grimes et al? On the basis of what we've seen so far I have big doubts. This is their big chance to prove that they have a credible business plan for the future. Mess this up and we'll lose a whole lot of talent on the cheap - and, as importantly, the manager. Because I can't see Potter hanging around if the board can't even secure the talent that's already in the club.