Leeds United: 49ers overruled Andrea Radrizzani in permanent £30m Georginio Rutter transfer
49ers Enterprises overruled Leeds United majority owner Andrea Radrizzani for the permanent transfer of Georginio Rutter in January, according to Phil Hay.
The 20-year-old has struggled for game time and form since his club-record £35.5million move from Hoffenheim in the winter transfer window, making just one Premier League start.
And a report emerged on Sunday from Hay [28 May] detailing the idea that Italian businessman and majority owner Radrizzani initially wanted a loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.
“Every transfer involved negotiations about how precisely it would be funded. Orta, by then of the view that a takeover was essential, grew more and more frustrated with how slowly certain negotiations moved. A vacuum of leadership developed.
“Georginio Rutter’s arrival from Hoffenheim was one example.
“Radrizzani mooted the idea of taking Rutter on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season but 49ers Enterprises wanted a permanent transfer immediately and a protracted move was done for £30million”, Hay intriguingly reveals.
Friction
Considering the kind of pressure the Whites are currently under to ensure their Premier League status for next season, Rutter’s lack of opportunities seems perfectly understandable.
However, a loan with an obligation to buy will have certainly been deemed smart business considering the current plight Leeds United were under at the time, and Rutter’s lack of knowledge of such a gruelling division.
And now because of some unwanted friction between the Leeds United board and the 49ers, the club could now potentially have wasted a mammoth £30m which will have been useful in their post-relegation rebuild.
Rutter, before his mega move to Elland Road, established himself as one of Germany’s most exciting young forward talents, recording 10 goals and four assists over the last two campaigns in the German Bundesliga.
So, the incentives were there to secure a big-money move and it certainly shows the 49ers were hell-bent on making a swift impression by shelling out such a fee for him.
The move simply hasn’t worked out so far, and his future remains uncertain, but Leeds United may be forced to keep him and see if he can develop at Elland Road, and given his age, potential and profile, he may well turn out to be a future world-beater. The Whites just simply have to now give him the conditions to thrive.
In other Leeds news, the club are expecting a relegation release clause for one player to be triggered this summer.