Chelsea were the only club in Europe to gain more money from player sales than Leeds United this summer.
Leeds were able to raise a total of £143.5 million as a number of their key players from last season left, in what was a larger rebuild than many had anticipated.
Leeds released 21 players this summer and signed eight to replace them. So far, it appears that good business has been done.
Leeds have started the league season unblemished, with eight points from their opening four games, three more than they had at this point last year.
That’s despite the fact that Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter, three of their top players, have all moved on to the Premier League.
Murphy claims Georginio Rutter deal ‘surprised’ him.
Following the play-off final defeat to Southampton in May, Summerville appeared to be the only obvious candidate to depart from that trio.
There had been anticipation that Gray and Rutter would stay for another year, but it became clear that this would not be the case when the former joined Spurs.
Around a month later, Summerville earned his well-deserved £25 million move to West Ham, which everyone expected to be the final huge departure.
However, Rutter quickly followed Summerville into the top flight after Brighton chose to activate his £40 million release clause just hours before it expired.
Rutter’s performances last season were unquestionably that of a player with Premier League potential, but his departure for £15 million more than Summerville raised eyebrows.
And that is certainly the opinion of analyst Danny Murphy, who stated on talkSPORT his surprise that a team like Brighton, famed for their shrewd recruitment, would spend so much money on the ‘unpredictable and unreliable’ Rutter.
He said, “I’ll tell you what.” They’ve spent a lot of money this summer, and expectations will climb, but I was shocked they paid so much on Rutter from Leeds. I’ve seen a lot of him, and while he is gifted, he is unpredictable and unreliable.”
When asked if he was worth the moment, Murphy responded, “No. That’s a lot of money for someone who spent a lot of time on the Leeds bench.
Why Georginio Rutter made the unexpected move to Brighton
It’s difficult to fault Rutter for moving to Brighton, which is clearly a progressive team on the right track that likes to give young players an opportunity.
At the same time, this is an unusual move. Brighton spent a lot of money over the summer, and they now have a team full of options, many of which are in Rutter’s position.
Rutter has came off the bench on the right wing in both of his games thus far, and if he continues to play that position, game time will be difficult to come by.
Brighton also spent substantially on right-wingers Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda, who are stronger on the left.
Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley are likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order for the number 10 position.
Rutter, as demonstrated by his time at Leeds, is a player who has to find his rhythm in order to perform at his best, and it does not appear that he will be given that opportunity at Brighton.
