Every Leeds United fan will have known that Georginio Rutter had the potential to go and shine in the Premier League but on Sunday, they had to watch him do it for a different team.
However, they might not have thought that to begin with. His initial six months at Elland Road could not have gone much worse, starting just one Premier League game after signing for Leeds for a huge £35m.
A club-record fee that remains until now. Sam Allardyce said he didn’t play Rutter because he wasn’t good enough, but relegation suited Rutter and he sparkled for Daniel Farke’s Leeds in the Championship.
He clocked up 51 appearances last season in league and cup, scoring eight goals and laying on a massive 16 assists. His transitional play as a no.10 was the attacking heartbeat for Leeds in a 90-point season.
Had Leeds beaten Southampton in the play-off final, Rutter would still be at Elland Road. But defeat saw Leeds had to deal with another season in the Championship, and it saw Rutter opt to move to Brighton.
Rutter shines for Brighton in comeback win against Tottenham
Against Archie Gray’s Tottenham, Rutter sparkled. Spurs went into half-time 2-0 up, with Gray an unused sub on the day. But goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison was not enough for Tottenham.
Brighton got one back through Yankuba Minteh, before Rutter netted his second Brighton goal having opened his account at Chelsea last week. Then, a stunning assist for Danny Welbeck’s winner, to win 3-2.
A sparkling display from Rutter, his best since leaving Leeds. Welbeck has nicknamed Rutter “velcro” due to his touch, but Leeds fans were left to endure watching a fan favourite shine in the top tier for Brighton.
One fan said he wished Rutter gave Leeds “one more season” having watching his goal and assist for Brighton, while another said Rutter was “never replaced” and showed Leeds “what we are missing”.
Another alluded to Sam Allardyce’s comments, questioning why he said he didn’t think Rutter was “ready for the Premier League”. One sarcastically put: “So glad we got rid of Rutter, such a rubbish player.”
It was summed up, simply, by another Leeds fan who posted: “I miss Rutter so much”.
Georginio Rutter’s stats in Premier League for Leeds v Brighton
As aforementioned, Rutter really struggled in the Premier League but there were many variables that showed why the Frenchman could not perform to the level Leeds fans had hoped from a £35m signing.
| Club | PL appearances | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Key passes |
| Leeds | 11 (one start) | 266 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Brighton | 6 (four starts) | 302 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
If Rutter was going to shine in the Premier League, it was not going to be at Leeds under four managers in the space of six months in the form of Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubala, Javi Gracia and then Allardyce.
Rutter was thrown in at the deep end with Leeds, unable to perform to his best in a side battling the drop. A new country, unable to speak English. That changed when Leeds were relegated to the Championship.
Now, Rutter is thriving. He has the experience of English football, the physicality and the speed. He has that experience, and is playing under a manager that wants to play attacking football. A shame, for Leeds.
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