Leeds United signed Georginio Rutter instead of Viktor Gyokeres for Jesse Marsch
Leeds United decided to sign Georginio Rutter instead of signing Viktor Gyokeres for Jesse Marsch, according to The Athletic.
Writing on their website (20 March), the news outlet report that the club were eying a player for their striker position to aid the club’s push to stay in the division but switched tact to move for Rutter in a club-record deal.
Gyokeres has since moved to Sporting CP and managed to score 36 goals in 39 games and has been linked with an £80m move to Arsenal while being dubbed “outstanding”, while Rutter has lit up the Championship as the Whites look to get back to the Premier League.
“Carrying the weight of his club-record £35.5million ($45.2m) price tag after arriving from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim in January, it looked as if Rutter was the wrong signing at the wrong time,” they wrote.
“Leeds had looked at a profile of player more like Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres, who was neither cheap nor truly for sale as Mark Robins’ side pushed for the Championship play-offs, but instead signed Rutter to bolster Jesse Marsch’s attack in a bid to stay up.”
Did Leeds United miss out or succeed?
You’d be hard pressed to find a Leeds United fan at the start of the season who would have been happy to hear this news, but things change quickly in football.
Rutter has gone from being a bench-warmer under Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce to a key player under Daniel Farke, and he is without a doubt one of the most important players in the team’s push for promotion.
So far this season the French youngster has managed seven goals and 15 assists in all competitions to help the team sit top of the Championship with just eight games remaining.
If you asked those same fans now you’d probably be hard pressed to find any Leeds fan who would swap the two players, despite the Swede’s incredible goalscoring exploits in Portugal. In fact, fans are already delighted they rejected a £25m offer from Dortmund.
Rutter just needed time and some confidence and now we’re seeing the very best of his qualities. Regardless of what could have been with Gyokeres, the deal to bring in Rutter was a success.
In other Leeds news, Joe Rodon refused to speak to one teammate after the 2-0 win over Millwall.
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