Leeds United transfer news: Whites face uphill battle to keep fans favourite

Leeds United face an uphill battle to persuade Georginio Rutter to stay after Brighton and Hove Albion triggered a release clause in his contract.

The Seagulls had two bids for the forward rejected this summer before lodging a £40m offer which met the clause shortly before it was due to expire.

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Leeds neither want nor need to sell the player after some lucrative sales earlier this summer kept them on the right side of the Championship's profit and sustainability rules, and hope the lure of playing for them and a fanbase which rallied behind the Frenchman after a difficult start to Elland Road will hold sway.

But they have found to their cost since dropping out of the Premier League how difficult that is.

Chief executive Angus Kinnear admitted Leeds had hoped the pull of the club would help them when they inserted loan release clauses activated by relegation in a string of contracts. But that naivety was exposed when Jack Harrison, Robin Koch, Max Wober, Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Diego Llorente and Marc Roca all used theirs to go, with only Wober and Aaronson back for the start of this season. Although Leeds initially disputed the fine print of Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra's clauses, they had to accept that both were permanently leaving for Bournemouth.

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Big a club though Leeds are, the appeal of the world’s best domestic football league – or in the case of others, the top divisions in Spain, Germany and Italy, usually outweighs the pull of staying at a club with a fanatical fanbase but one division down. Adams and Sinisterra joining Bournemouth were especially sobering in that respiect.

This summer Archie Gray, the club's leading homegrown talent from a family of former Leeds players, left for Tottenham Hotpsur in a £40m deal which put Leeds in a strong position with regards to financial fair play.

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DECISION: Leeds United forward Georginio RutterDECISION: Leeds United forward Georginio Rutter
DECISION: Leeds United forward Georginio Rutter

But it did not stop Crysencio Summerville leaving for West Ham United when his £25m release clause was met.

Leeds will be hoping the circumstances around Rutter are different.

The French forward is a happy-go-lucky player who endured a miserable first six months at Elland Road after signing in a £35m club record transfer in January 2023 with a lot of hope on his shoulders to save them from relegation. He struggled to even break into the side and did not score a goal for them that season.

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But he received great support from the stands at the start of the next season and was a key player as new manager Daniel Farke rebuilt the side.

BITTER BLOW: Archie Gray's departure was a blow to Leeds United and their manager Daniel Farke (left)BITTER BLOW: Archie Gray's departure was a blow to Leeds United and their manager Daniel Farke (left)
BITTER BLOW: Archie Gray's departure was a blow to Leeds United and their manager Daniel Farke (left)

An emotional character, Leeds are hoping that holds sway.

"This helps a lot because you're frustrated, you haven't scored, but the fans are saying. 'It's okay, Georgie.' That made me more confident and I started to score and assist and create a relationship with the fans. This is amazing.”

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It is understood his release clause has now expired, so Leeds will be able to reject any further bids if Rutter was to turn Brighton down.

After conceding six goals in the first two games of the season in drawing with newly-promoted Portsmouth and going out of the League Cup to Middlesbrough, Leeds and their fanbase could do with that lift.

The transfer window closes on August 30. To date, Leeds have only paid transfer fees for Jayden Bogle and Joe Rodon, a makeweight in the Gray deal.

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