Leeds could sign their new Rutter in January but it’ll cost £35m

Leeds United have definitely fallen victim to a high-profile transfer blunder or two over recent years.

Just one quick glance at the Premier League side’s top five most expensive purchases of all time is enough to show you how hit-and-miss their business has been, with Luis Sinisterra being picked up for £21m, leaving a sour taste in the mouth, as the Colombian fell victim to a string of injuries during his eight-goal stint.

Georginio Rutter did look as if he was heading down the same path of being a rash waste of money when he initially struggled to get going in England after a club-record £35.5m switch was finalised from Hoffenheim.

Thankfully, he managed to turn around his Leeds tale, after once being dubbed a ”non-entity” in the Premier League by the Athletic’s Beren Cross, with the easy-on-the-eye Frenchman and Daniel Farke going down as a match made in heaven.

Rutter's transformation under Farke

Rutter did warrant some of the early criticism that came his way when he first pulled on Leeds white, with 11 Premier League games passing him by, with just one assist to shout about.

But, as is obvious when watching his sumptuous strike above, Farke managed to get the very best out of the one-of-a-kind attacker in the Championship, with Rutter becoming fluid in how he operated under the German, whether that saw him lead the line for the West Yorkshire giants, or take up a second striker spot behind the main centre-forward.

Wherever he did line up, Rutter would stand out as a “special” star under the ex-Norwich City boss’ guidance, as Farke once labelled his former number 24, with a mammoth eight goals and 17 assists being tallied up from their 53 appearances together.

Leeds haven’t quite had a player of Rutter’s calibre on their books since the 6-foot maverick moved onto Brighton and Hove Albion last summer, but that could soon change, if the Whites are bold enough to persist with a statement swoop in January.

Leeds could sign Farke's next Rutter

The Premier League’s new boys will be on the hunt for some Rutter-style gems during the long window to come, with the Frenchman originally being picked up by the top-flight giants back in January of 2022.

Joshua Zirkzee could well fit this bill, despite his hit-and-miss stay at Manchester United to date, with reports surfacing from Italy suggesting that Farke and Co have even made an approach for the ex-Bologna attacker, as next month’s window gradually comes into view.

That said, they may have to pay an arm and a leg to get a deal over the line with some reports suggesting United will not sanction an exit unless their £35m asking price is met.

Much like Rutter was initially hard to sum up, amid poor form in the Premier League, the forward has stood out as an enigma throughout his up-and-down Red Devils stay to date, with the six-time Dutch international even openly admitting that he doesn’t feel comfortable operating as an out-and-out striker, or as a number ten, when first joining.

Farke has been here before with Rutter, and he will hope he can work his magic again on another misfit in need of an arm around their shoulder. He has shown signs of his promise in the Premier League this season with Ruben Amorim’s men, even if the goals and assists haven’t been overflowing.

While he has rightly received pelters for only tallying up a meagre goal contribution from nine league appearances to date, the signs are there that Zirkzee could burst into life, with an impressive 2.8 progressive passes averaged per Premier League clash this season standing out.

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He also hasn’t just become a rotten player overnight, with Zirkzee labelled as a “special” talent by his former Bologna boss Thiago Motta, much like Farke’s praise to Rutter, when collecting 14 goals and nine assists from 58 appearances in Italy.

Going as far back as his Anderlecht days, too, it’s clear that the 24-year-old has an eye for assist that rivals the Frenchman in his Elland Road prime, with 18 goals and 13 assists collected in Belgium.

Zirkzee desperately needs a fresh beginning, away from the pressures of Old Trafford, having been dismissed as “terrible” last year by some.

That new slate wiped clean could come at the Red Devils’ arch rivals in Leeds, as Farke looks to get miraculous results out of another cast aside talent, as he managed with Rutter in some style.

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