Amid speculation that Wilfried Gnonto could yet be heading for the exit door, one Premier League side are reportedly preparing a fresh attempt to deal Leeds United an added blow this summer.
Leeds transfer news
The Whites have already felt the consequences of their promotion failure more than once this summer, losing both Archie Gray and Glen Kamara to Tottenham Hotspur and Stade Rennais respectively. With just a matter of weeks left until the new Championship campaign gets underway, those at Elland Road have it all to do, but could yet face further departures.
Following Everton's sale of Amadou Onana, the Toffees could reportedly turn their attention towards signing Gnonto and rumours suggest that they may yet use their Onana money to splash out on the Leeds winger, whose future has been thrown into question for some time in Yorkshire. Losing Gnonto would undoubtedly damage Daniel Farke's attack, but losing an alternative forward could send their title hopes into disarray before the season's even underway.
According to Football Insider journalist Pete O'Rourke, Brighton & Hove Albion are now preparing to submit a fresh bid to sign Georginio Rutter from Leeds this summer, having reportedly failed with a £30m move earlier this summer. The forward became the Whites' record signing in 2022 after arriving from Hoffenheim. Now, two years later, he could yet take an alternative route back to the Premier League following this concerning new update.
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Rutter finally came to life in the Championship, but it still wasn't enough to drag Farke's side to promotion as they suffered Wembley heartbreak at the hands of Southampton. Impressing enough to earn Brighton's interest, nonetheless, the Seagulls are seemingly looking to hand the 22-year-old a deserved second chance in England's top flight.
"Brilliant" Rutter is crucial to Leeds' title hopes
After missing out on promotion last season, Leeds won't want to leave any doubts this time around and will be gunning for the Championship title and an automatic place into the Premier League. Rutter remains crucial to that goal. The Frenchman found his best form in the playmaker role under Farke last season, sitting behind Joel Piroe and recording an impressive 16 assists in all competitions, alongside scoring six goals of his own.
One of the best creators in the second tier, Farke's praise of the 22-year-old came as no surprise in the last campaign. The Leeds boss said via BBC Sport after a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City: "He fulfilled this role in a nearly perfect way – it was a brilliant performance. In recent weeks we have played him more in a flexible role, a bit deeper. He started quite often in a role up front but we have put him slightly deeper."
Whether Farke gets the chance to see such "brilliant" performances from Rutter this season remains to be seen, however.