Leeds United could have probably planned Georginio Rutter’s exit from Elland Road a bit better.
Leeds ultimately signed Rutter for £35m, only for Brighton to take the Frenchman off their hands for £5m profit.
It seems his move has worked, with Pep Guardiola praising Rutter’s first season, as the forward will no doubt be missed by Daniel Farke.
The Whites could no doubt do with a player like the 24-year-old next season, which they could’ve done if promotion was secured in 2024.
He’s made the impact Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler needed, but the Whites have now been left with even more egg on their face after the deal.
Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Brighton close to signing former Leeds United target Azzedine Ounahi
Many Leeds fans will remember the January 2023 transfer window when the Whites were trying to sign Moroccan star Azzedine Ounahi, who tore up opposition midfields in the 2022 World Cup.
Leeds ended up bidding for Ounahi, who looked to be a promising asset coming to Yorkshire with the Whites hanging on in the top flight.
However, Ounahi opted for a move to Marseille instead, which didn’t work out for the 25-year-old, who now finds himself in Greece with Panathinaikos.
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This is relevant now as Foot Mercato are now reporting that Brighton are close to a ‘verbal agreement’ for the attacking midfielder with a fee of £9.6m stated, just under £8m less than what Leeds were going to pay.
However, something Leeds planned in the past makes this deal so much more embarrassing for the Whites.
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Leeds structured Rutter’s £35m move to sign Ounahi in 2023
With the Moroccan now finally set for his Premier League move, it was quite surprising he didn’t pick Leeds at the time.
The Whites might have dodged a bullet after his time with Marseille, but the midfielder has improved drastically in Greece, giving reason why the Seagulls want his signature.
Ounahi’s statistics for Panathinaikos in 24/25 season
Games played 25
Goal involvements 9 (5G+4A)
Pass accuracy % 85.5%
Duels won 131
Fouls won per 90 2.60
But what makes this move disappointing for the Whites is that Leeds structured Rutter’s signing off Ounahi’s possible arrival.
This means that the club didn’t want to pay ‘so much up front’ for Rutter to save funds for Ounahi, but the Moroccan never ended up joining in that window.
In the long term, this could’ve saved Leeds more money instead of paying installments for Rutter, who eventually left to sign at Brighton for minimal profit.
Now, both the Frenchman and Ounahi could both be donning the Brighton strip to Leeds’ dismay.