Leeds United and 'promising' Georginio Rutter - notes of caution from Germany and French mystery - YEP 11/1/23

Anyone popping down Leeds United's Elland Road ground on Tuesday hoping to catch sight of Georginio Rutter was left disappointed.

By Graham Smyth

Other than perhaps one of the agents camped out in Victor Orta's office to work on the deal nipping outside for a cigarette, there was no Whites smoke to be seen. Club sources have been insisting since Sunday that things were not quite as advanced with Hoffenheim as had been suggested and there was no plane booked for a Tuesday medical. The end of the week has always felt likelier, if Leeds are to get it over the line.

Of course the longer it takes the more twitchy fans become, because there are summer transfer window wounds, in the shape of Charles De Ketelaere, Cody Gakpo and Bamba Dieng, still healing, or festering, depending on your disposition. Back then, someone, at some point, was giving Leeds the eyes, because Orta headed out to Holland with the intention of bringing Gakpo back with him, yet everything said by player and PSV since has been a freezing cold shower for the Whites. Minds don’t have to be cast much further than that to recall the awkward, telling silence that engulfed the club the night of the Michael Cuisance no-deal incident, when the length of time that passed after the midfielder flew in became more and more ominous.

Still, there’s no suggestion that this is anything like that and besides, even in cases when there is no cause for alarm, these things can take time. Perhaps it's a by-product of the modern day buy-it-now, instant gratification culture or social media's ravenous hype machine, but the belief that all it takes to get a transfer done is an official offer from the desk of secretary Hannah Cox and perhaps a few minutes of back and forth bartering on email, is a mistaken one.

Deals are a conversation, often a complex one, at the end of which comes a final offer that the buying club knows will be agreeable to the seller. It feels, at times, like football discourse wants to leap straight from 'personal terms agreed' to a photo of a player holding a scarf over his head, missing out that pesky matter of consulting his employer. Remember Barcelona and Raphinha and the months and months of reminders that the Brazilian's demands would be met?

But everyone loves a striker and almost everyone needs one, most of the time. Right now, Leeds very much need one and have for some time, so whether the mood is excitement, eagerness, nervousness or desperation, it's warranted. Get a striker in and get him in yesterday, is the message from the fanbase, in not so polite terms.

No one wants to devote any time to thoughts about what happened the last time Leeds brought in a young, French forward from the Bundesliga, not when Rutter is clearly the best thing since sliced bread and this time it will all be different. Is he? Will it? The truth, as ever, carries nuance and a hearty dash of the unknowable.

Even in his own country, Under 21 international Rutter has a mystery about him.

"In France he's considered as someone quite gifted but we don't know too much about him," Pierre-Etienne Minonzio of L'Equipe told the YEP.

"He's more of a symbol that today more and more players leave France very early in their careers. He left when he was maybe 18, he was raised at Rennes, signed his first contract at 16 and in almost two years he rarely played for Rennes, his manager thought it was too early. When there is a promising young talent who doesn't play in France there is always a huge interest from foreign clubs, especially German clubs. There is a lot of young players who aren't happy with the fact that they don't play so much and they go abroad. In France it raises a discussion, there's a feeling that it puts a huge pressure on clubs, if they don't play their young talent they leave early, much earlier than a few years ago.

"So he's not that well known as a player, much more as a symbol that young talents leave clubs where they grow up, even before they play in the first team."

Still, there is a recognition in France, at least among its football experts, that Rutter is an avenue worth pursuing.

"He's very good, very quick, very gifted, he dribbles a lot, he seems to have a good personality, he wants to improve and works hard," said Minonzio.

"He's a good one, he adapted very quickly to the Bundesliga despite his young age."

In Germany, there is no real doubt that Rutter could become an incredibly good player, but there are notes of caution when his name crops up. Lewis Ambrose, a football journalist based in Germany, sees him as a good fit for Jesse Marsch but not an instant success.

"I wouldn't necessarily expect him to hit the ground running, with it being a big step up and in January, but I think it's a really exciting signing," he said.

"You get more space in the Bundesliga to drive with the ball but he's a great dribbler, always taking players on, and as both-footed as a player can be. He works his socks off too, he should fit in with Marsch really well."

Stefan Bienkowski, who covers the Bundesliga for The Telegraph, is no less convinced of Rutter's potential.

"He's a very promising young forward, but I think it would be fair to say that he hasn't quite figured out what kind of player he wants to be just yet" he told the YEP.

"On paper he's a number 9, but I think he plays more like a 10 or inside forward. Last season he was excellent at running in from wide positions, taking on defenders and, like a lot of modern players, seems to find it easier to score from the edge of the box than directly in front of the goalkeeper. So certainly more of a dribbler than a penalty-box poacher. Perhaps quite like Roberto Firmino, who came before him at Hoffenheim."

Bienkowski is, however, wary of declaring this the right move at the right time for Rutter or Leeds.

"To be honest, I'm a little worried about him at Leeds," he said.

"He's really struggled this season in part because he's had a few more bumps and bruises from opposing defenders - which I suspect will be waiting for him tenfold in England - and he's still a very young man still trying to find consistency. He still has a lot of maturing to do, so Marsch may need to protect him a lot at first. But there's no doubt that there's the potential to be a star player."

He can't be a star player for Leeds until he's a Leeds player and he's not one of those yet, but he does sound like a player. Or, at the very least, one that will be."