Joe Rodon will have been despondent come full-time at Wembley with how his loan spell with Leeds United was ending, concluding with the bitter disappointment of a Championship play-off final defeat, instead of the script everyone involved with the Whites wanted in the form of promotion.
The Welshman's future back at Tottenham Hotspur remains unsolved, but with Leeds still languishing in the second tier as a result of this latest play-off misery, it could be unlikely that the defender is sanctioned another loan switch back to West Yorkshire or even a permanent move to call Elland Road.
This will understandably be a bitter pill to swallow for everyone connected with the second-tier giants, as Rodon was a brick wall at times last campaign in an intimidating partnership with Ethan Ampadu in the heart of defence.
Rodon managed to collect 17 clean sheets of his own in a Whites side that looked destined to be returning back to the Premier League at one stage, but instead, the 49ers could now be shopping in the loan market once more to bolster their team.
Leeds looking at top youngster
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Daniel Farke's nearly-men are eyeing up a loan swoop for Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist this coming transfer window, who has been handed plenty of first-team opportunities this season at Stamford Bridge.
Making 11 first-team appearances in the league is an impressive number for the 20-year-old to have accumulated, considering this campaign is when he truly began to make waves at a senior level, after years of strictly playing Premier League 2 football for the youth side minus the odd bench call-up every now and then.
He even scored off the bench against Everton after merely two minutes, whilst also playing against Leeds United earlier in the season in an FA Cup 3-2 humdinger in Chelsea's favour that saw the Whites push a youthful Blues team all the way.
Leeds aren't a lone suitor interested in Gilchrist, however, with further interest coming from fellow Championship sides Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End.
Games played
43
Average touches
83.7
Accurate passes per game
66.0 (91%)
Clean sheets
17
Balls recovered per game
4.2
Clearances per game
4.5
Stats by Sofascore
Yet, Leeds' success story with Rodon, with his numbers mightily impressive when taking in the table above, could sway Chelsea into believing a stint in West Yorkshire could be a formative next step for the 20-year-old in his development, who has shown signs of his bright potential this season, even when things haven't been all smooth sailing at the Blues.
Gilchrist's season in numbers
Gilchrist will hope that if his time with Leeds went well, that he could take even bigger strides in the senior mix back at Chelsea, becoming a starter for the club potentially down the line, a dream considering he has been in and around the Blues since 2014 as a child.
Only helping his side pick up one clean sheet from his 11 first-team outings in the Premier League to date in the men's team, with only two of those actually being fully fledged starts, his most promising display in the cut and thrust of the elite division came against Tottenham Hotspur at the start of May when that solitary shut-out was registered.
Shining in a rejuvenated Chelsea side that beat Ange Postecoglou's inconsistent Spurs 2-0, Gilchrist would last 85 mins on the Stamford Bridge turf and made the most of his rare start.
Making a combined nine clearances, interceptions and tackles in the game, the 20-year-old would also only surrender possession seven total times as a composed and smooth passer of the ball from out the back.
Playing all of these games at right-back, with his captain presence for the U21s only exclusively seeing him line up in the heart of defence as opposed to down the flanks, Leeds might well be able to offer him extended periods in his preferred centre-back spot as opposed to filling in gaps back at Chelsea.
Rodon's exit would also mean Leeds are on the hunt for a new partner to shore up the back four centrally alongside Ethan Ampadu, with the former Chelsea youngster presumably crossing paths with Gilchrist once upon a time at his parent club, during his topsy-turvy development in West London, before calling Elland Road home.
Imagine Ethan Ampadu and Gilchrist
Not missing one single game of league action for Leeds, even in the high intensity of the play-offs, Ampadu was arguably even more of an integral cog in Farke's side last season than Rodon was.
After being chucked out on loan all across various unique locations when on the books at Chelsea – with destinations ranging from Leipzig to Spezia to Sheffield – Ampadu will hope he remains fixed in West Yorkshire ahead of an up-in-the-air campaign next time around, even if many of his teammates from last season relocate.
Leeds
54
0
90
Spezia
32
0
86
Venezia
29
3
79
Sheffield United
25
2
84
RB Leipzig
3
0
26
Sourced by Sofascore
Feeling valued at Leeds after a mixture of up-and-down loan stints, Ampadu could be the perfect mentor to Gilchrist – who has gone on to be successful after coming through the youth ranks at Chelsea – and a perfect partner for him to bounce off of as a result.
With Ampadu excelling more in his duo with Rodon in terms of tenacity and energy as a ball-winner, seen in him averaging 6.9 ball recoveries per match, Gilchrist could come in and be as level-headed as Rodon on the ball as a calm and measured operator seen in him averaging an 85% when it comes to passing accuracy per game.
Signing a new deal at Stamford Bridge recently to keep the dream alive he can make the grade at his boyhood employers, the time is right, therefore, for Gilchrist to earn his stripes with a loan move away.
Many stars of past and present in West London have benefitted from short-term moves away, with Conor Gallagher announcing himself to the Premier League on loan at Crystal Palace amongst other examples, even if Ampadu struggled on his own conveyer belt of stints away from Chelsea.
Leeds will just keep their fingers crossed that Gilchrist can be their next Rodon or indeed their new Ampadu, with the "unbelievable" defender as labelled by John Terry, potentially set to arrive at Elland Road.
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