EFL manager coy on Leeds United loanee's future as Joe Rodon 'option' details emerge

The final weekend of the regular Championship season is almost upon us and Leeds United are in a difficult situation. The Whites currently sit in third, three points behind Ipswich Town in the table, with Saturday's clash against Southampton their last on their current schedule.

As such, in order to sneak into the top two and claim that final automatic promotion spot, Leeds need to not only beat Southampton but hope Ipswich Town fall to a surprise defeat on home soil against Huddersfield Town. The Terriers are effectively relegated at this point and that ensures Ipswich will be strong favourites to pick up the win, but you never know.

It's set to be an intense final day of Championship action and Leeds will be doing all they can to avoid the lottery of the play-offs. As the build-up to Saturday's game gathers pace, we round-up some of the latest Leeds United transfer news and rumours out there.

Leeds' Rodon 'option'

According to Football Insider, Leeds United have an option to sign Joe Rodon permanently this summer should they win promotion to the Premier League. Rodon has been a key player for Leeds since joining the club on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last August and it's clear that the club would love to be able to keep hold of the Welshman.

The report suggests United would have the chance to do that should they achieve their goal and find a way out of the Championship this month. Fail to win promotion, though, and there would be doubt about the club's ability to pull off such a move.

Rodon has made 46 appearances for Leeds in all competitions this season and with his performances being key to helping them maintain one of the best defensive records in the division. He's built effective partnerships with Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu over the course of the year and on a personal level, he has shown that he deserves to ply his trade in the top flight.

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Rohl remaining coy on Poveda future

Danny Rohl gave little away when asked about Sheffield Wednesday's chances of securing Ian Poveda permanently. The Leeds United loanee is approaching the end of his Elland Road contract and he is expected to become a free agent this summer.

As such, Wednesday would have the chance to sign him for nothing, should they want to, although they might face some competition for his signature. Rohl outlined earlier this season that he would be keen to add the Colombian to his squad permanently and given his impressive early performances in an Owls shirt, it wasn't hard to see why.

Poveda has missed five of the club's last seven games through injury, unfortunately, which has severely limited his impact on Wednesday's battle against the drop in the Championship. However, he has restarted training and he could be fit enough to make a return against Sunderland this week, with survival on the line.

Rohl was asked again about his thoughts on signing Poveda, and Ike Ugbo, permanently this week, but he opted to keep his cards close to his chest.

“We know these players and that they gave us quality in the second leg (half of the season)," Rohl said, as per the Sheffield Star. "We know Ian when he played, he has a good impact, Ike Ugbo has scored for us. We will try to have a good squad together, but now we focus to Saturday and then on Sunday we can start to speak about the next step.”