Swansea City chief executive Julian Winter has defended the club's decision to sell Joe Rodon to Tottenham Hotspur.

Rodon was a key player for Swansea during his time at the Liberty Stadium, emerging as a crucial player under Steve Cooper in the past year-and-a-half.

The central defender has come up leaps and bounds in the last couple of years, and has become a regular under Ryan Giggs for the Wales national team.

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Rodon, though, departed the club for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, departing for £11million in a deal which could potentially rise to £15million.

The value of the deal disappointed many Swansea fans, though, with many feeling as if the club should have held out for around the £20million mark.

In fact, former Swansea player Alan Curtis claimed that Rodon is "worth a lot more" than what the club sold him for, sharing the opinions of many fans.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Sport, though, Swans' chief executive Julian Winter has defended the club's decision to sell Rodon, saying: "I can understand that, but you have to take a view at the time that you're in it and there wasn't a big market for Joe.

"There was only one club in for Joe. We did try with a couple of other clubs, but that wasn't going anywhere.

"We got to a point where in order to create a deeper squad with the permanents (signings) that we brought in, I think that's great for the club for the longer term."

The Verdict

To be honest, I was quite surprised when I saw that Rodon was only leaving for around £15million.

He is only young but has so much Championship experience under his belt, and he has already racked up a load of appearances at a decent age.

He has plenty of potential and is already very talented, so if he goes on to be a success, £15million is a bargain.