According to Phil Hay, big European clubs were interested in signing Leeds United striker Georginio Rutter in January and would still be willing to take a chance on him.
The Athletic journalist believes that the unfavorable attitude of Leeds fans to the Frenchman is due to the fact that so much money was spent on him and he failed to make a difference in their fight against relegation.
The 21-year-old created waves when he went to Elland Road in January 2023, breaking the club’s record for the most expensive acquisition in its history.
“The criticism of that signing wasn’t over Rutter per se, it was over the fact that given what he contributed in that second half of the season from the end of the transfer window onwards, it wasn’t right,” Hay stated on the Square Ball at 14:00. That is not the same as claiming Rutter is not a good or talented player. There are bigger clubs in Europe who would have taken him and are interested in him.”
Is it finally getting better?
Rutter bore a much of the blame for the Whites’ lackluster performances in both the Premier League and the Championship.
He was played in multiple positions and he failed to make a telling impact as some of the other players have done.
However, the Millwall game was perfect for Rutter to silence his critics and offer glimpses of why the hierarchy took the gamble on him.He arrived at Elland Road relatively unknown to the average Leeds fan and the fact that he signed for a club-record fee meant that there was going to be added scrutiny.
It now looks like he’s getting on well with Joel Piroe and perhaps Daniel Farke has figured out that Piroe playing behind him could maximise the output of the attacking duo.
It remains to be seen if Rutter can kick on from that and go on to score 15-20 goals over the course of the season.
In other Leeds United news, Daniel Farke surely has the last laugh as footage of a £20m+ player has emerged over the past week.
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