‘I COULDN’T LEAVE A CLUB WHERE PEOPLE HADN’T SEEN ME PLAY’ – GEORGINIO RUTTER EAGER TO PROVE HIMSELF AT LEEDS UNITED — Get Football France 22/12/23
The price tag weighed heavy on Georginio Rutter (21) as he became Leeds United’s most expensive signing when he made the swap last January from HSG Hoffenheim.
Bought for €40 million during a season where the English
club was mired in a struggle to remain in the Premier League, there was an
expectation that the record signing was brought in to provide the impetus for
survival.
However, the French forward instead struggled for game time
as he became a victim of the club’s instability, when the manager who had
championed his signing, Jesse Marsch, was sacked weeks after Rutter made the
move.
The following two managers, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce
did not share Marsch’s enthusiasm for the young Frenchman leaving many baffled
over what the club had first seen in Rutter to make him their record transfer.
Rutter came to be written off as a symptom of the state of
the club, an illustration of the fundamental mismanagement that had allowed it
to slide into a relegation battle.
Relegation is never a positive outcome, especially dropping
out of a league as rich as the Premier League, but it did offer Leeds and
Rutter an opportunity for a reset over the summer.
It looked from the outside as if Rutter’s reset would come
in the shape of a transfer away from Leeds. There were interested parties last
summer, with Lyon and Borussia Dortmund, reportedly keen on transplanting the
forward.
Despite their efforts, Rutter was notably less willing to
leave a place where he had not yet shown his talent, speaking to L’Équipe, the
player reflected that ‘I couldn’t leave a club where people hadn’t seen me
play, I kept telling myself: “They haven’t seen me play!”’
And with Leeds, turning to the experienced and progressive
Daniel Farke to help guide them back to the Premier League, the Frenchman
finally found a manager willing to let him play.
Despite now having a manager who allowed the forward to
express himself, the difficulties of the season before had taken their toll on
his self-belief.
It was only until Leeds played Watford in a 3-0 victory
marked by a mesmeric performance from the young Frenchman, that Rutter allowed
himself to regain what had been missing since his transfer: ‘I had… less
confidence for a few months and this match unlocked a lot of things. I said to
myself: “Ah, I can still dribble, I can pass?”’
Since that game, Rutter has grown into his role at the heart
of the Leeds attack, where the forward has performed as a false nine that looks
to create rather than finish chances. A role that takes special advantage of
his ability to distribute the ball.
In twenty-one games, the forward has provided nine assists
for his teammates (while also scoring four goals), the joint-highest in the
Championship with Leif David (23) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (25).
Rutter states to L’Équipe, that this role has been a
transition in how he approaches the game, ‘I am more lucid, I take my time to
serve my teammates. In my head, it works better: I am more mature in my game,
more tactical. My vision of the game has improved. Before, I played like a
youngster, I didn’t really look for spaces. Now I watch them a lot and think
about the game.
His performances in England have not gone unnoticed, with
Thierry Henry, the manager of the France under-21s, picking Rutter for
international duty back in November. The young forward noted, ‘When I arrived,
I was a little shocked… “It’s Thierry Henry, after all!” It was a source of
pride, I had come a long way. But hey, it’s all well and good to have been
called once… You have to make sure you come back.’
And if Rutter keeps at this level, it will be hard to
imagine a scenario in which he would not be called back to Henry’s squad. A
truly remarkable achievement for a player who less than a year ago was
considered a record misstep.
