Georginio Rutter could earn rare Leeds United start after impressing for Under-21’s in front of Sam Allardyce and staff
Big Sam Allardyce was present with his staff and managing director Angus Kinnear to watch Leeds United’s Under-21’s earn promotion back into the PL2.
A fine season for the youngsters has seen the club earn promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, and new manager Allardyce was seen in the crowd alongside assistants Robbie Keane and Karl Robinson too (Joe Donnohue, 15 May).
Just days have passed since the boss was asked about whether or not he could potentially trust some youngsters to step into the first-team to aid the battle against relegation, and he was open to the idea if they were good enough.
So the chances of it being a coincidence that a man with potentially just two games left in charge of the first-team was taking a glance at the future of the club are slim.
More likely is that he was there to see if there were any wildcards available to him for the final two games of the season against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
And what Allardyce would have seen is the club-record signing Georginio Rutter find the net in a Leeds shirt for the first-time since his £32.5m move from Hoffenheim in January.
The French youngster hasn’t featured for even a single minute since Allardyce arrived, but he showed a great poachers instinct with his goal early on to give the team the lead and help guide them to the victory.
Patrick Bamford has struggled badly all season as the number nine and with Rodrigo still the club’s best finisher, Allardyce may have just found himself an alternative goal threat for the run-in.
Rutter managed two goals and two assists in 11 starts in the Bundesliga before his move in January and with Big Sam’s more direct style of play he could profit from having a bit more space to work in up front.
Something new is needed in the team to get more goals, and Rutter has shown he knows where the back of the net is.
By impressing in front of the boss in an in-game situation, he would have done himself no harm when it comes to earning a start and could be the wildcard that we need to get a win and avoid relegation.
In other Leeds news, 13-time league champions are “seriously” considering a transfer for one Whites ace.