Leeds find themselves in a desperate position with two weeks of the summer transfer window remaining, set to lose 22-year-old attacker Georginio following the triggering of a relegation release clause.
Elland Road sources confirmed to the YEP Rutter’s clause expired on the evening of Wednesday, August 14, however Brighton, clearly with knowledge of the deadline, elected to meet the required exit sum earlier that day.
How Brighton came to know of Rutter’s clause is unconfirmed but in footballing and intermediary circles, the existence of such contractual info is often shared in order to streamline and inform transfer activity. There is no suggestion, however, Leeds themselves alerted interested parties of the sum required.
Club chiefs were locked in talks at Elland Road late last night, while Georginio is claimed to have been ‘in tears’ before leaving Leeds’ home ground for what could be the final time as a Whites player. The Whites’ negotiating position with the player is weak given they are unable to offer any guarantee of Premier League football, but are willing to compete with Brighton on whatever package the Seagulls table.
United are nevertheless holding out faint hope that a deal can be struck with the player that persuades him to stay for a second season in the Championship, although it appears increasingly likely his destination will be the south coast with Premier League football too great an opportunity to turn down. Additionally, Leeds are yet to replace last season’s Championship Player of the Year Crysencio Summerville, or £40 million midfield prodigy Archie Gray, and remain insistent that reinforcements will arrive before the window’s August 30 deadline.
An explanation put to the YEP by an Elland Road source as to the reason for the peculiar timing of Rutter’s release clause expiry is that when negotiating the player’s signing, Leeds wanted to allow themselves adequate time to find a replacement, rather than letting the clause run until the transfer deadline and potentially being left high and dry if it were triggered at a later stage of the window.
While the practice of inserting release clauses as a negotiating tool when signing high-value players is common among lower-end Premier League sides, it does not explain why messaging from the club’s hierarchy suggested they were able to dictate terms on transfers following the departure of Gray, widely understood to have been made due to Profitability and Sustainability concerns.
The club rejected Brighton’s previous offers for Georginio this summer, worth £29 million and £35 million, after the young forward registered six goals and 16 assists in the Championship last season. The YEP understands talks were held a number of weeks ago following Brighton’s second official approach, which it is now clear, came within £5 million of triggering the then-active release clause.
It is also claimed any other release clauses in remaining players’ contracts which were still active yesterday, and until now disputed to have existed, are expired.
At the beginning of the summer, Leeds struck a deal with Red Bull to become principal shirt sponsor and a ‘significant’ minority shareholder in the club, dubbed one of the most lucrative in the history of the EFL. It was suggested by chairman Paraag Marathe in an interview with The Athletic that the existence of such a deal could be the difference between losing or keeping one of the Whites’ star players. Since then, Leeds have recouped £65 million on Gray and Summerville and can be expected to receive a further £40 million from the sale of Rutter, which is likely to be completed promptly.
An Elland Road source has suggested without Leeds’ Red Bull partnership, the club may have been forced to accept Brighton’s opening bid, some £11 million short of the player’s release fee.
Supporters have reacted negatively to news of Rutter’s imminent departure, in conjunction with a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign which has seen the team concede three goals in each of their opening matches, most recently losing 3-0 to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke’s first-team squad numbers just 20 players, which includes three goalkeepers, prior to Georginio’s anticipated departure, while the futures of Willy Gnonto and Max Wober remain uncertain before the window closes later this month.
