Rodrigo joined Leeds from La Liga club Valencia for a fee in the region of £27m last summer, but his first season at Elland Road did not go according to plan.
The Spain international struggled to make a significant impact at Elland Road and many believe the jury is still out on him as he tries to prove his worth.
However, former Leeds star Matteo is of the view that Rodrigo is underrated and feels the Whites are yet to see the best of the former Valencia forward.
Matteo stressed the need for Rodrigo to step up for Leeds in the absence of main goalscorer Bamford and thinks he has done so by netting against Wolves and Norwich City.
“Rodrigo is in decent form, I think he is underrated as well“, Matteo said on LUTV.
“I think we haven’t seen the best of him yet and that will come.
“When Pat gets back, maybe we will see him play in a slightly different role.
“I think he has done well, he has had his critics as well, but he gets on with his game.
“It was good to see him get another goal [against Norwich] and I think, for him when he plays in that position there is probably more emphasis on him to get a goal.
“When Pat plays, obviously he is the main goalscorer, we’ve seen all the goals he scored last season.
“But, when he is not fit, Rodrigo needs to stand up and get them goals, and he did, so fair play to him and again.
“When he took the penalty [against Wolves], cool as a cucumber, so we have seen another side to him which I think will only improve him as a player.“
Rodrigo scored the equaliser for Leeds in their 1-1 draw against Wolves, while he netted the winner in the side’s 2-1 victory over Norwich.
