A Leeds Utd move for a French forward is ‘very advanced’ and personal terms have already been agreed, with three top sources all reporting Jesse Marsch will soon land his second January signing.
The Whites acted quickly to address an issue at left-back when signing Max Wober last week. The 23-year-old defender arrived from RB Salzburg, but according to three top sources, Leeds Utd fans won’t have long to wait for arrival number two.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg recently tweeted Leeds want Hoffenheim’s Georginio Rutter ‘NOW!’. The capital letters and exclamation mark are not typos.
Talks had reportedly opened for the 20-year-old who plays exclusively at centre-forward. Plettenberg added Rutter is ‘open’ to the move.
A highly respected source on all things Leeds Utd is the Athletic’s Phil Hay. Providing weight to the story, Hay later retweeted Plettenberg’s post, though the positive signs didn’t end there.
French outlet L’Equipe reported a €30m (approx. £26.45m) bid had been tabled. That is on the lower end of what Plettenberg stated a deal could be made for – €30m-€40m.
However, the biggest boost has come from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. He tweeted on Sunday morning a move that will bring Rutter to Elland Road is now ‘very advanced’.
Providing further insight, Romano noted personal terms have already been agreed and the bid is indeed €30m (£26.45m), as L’Equipe reported.
Talks between Leeds and Hoffenheim are due to continue very shortly, though barring late drama, Marsch is on course to secure his second signing barely a week into the window.
Why are Leeds Utd moving for Rutter?
Marsch’s primary options up front are Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo, though the former has increasingly begun to struggle with injuries.
Bamford has made just 19 league appearances over the last 18 months and now 29, his injury issues are unlikely to ease.
That’s put pressure on Rodrigo to step up and this season in particular, the Spaniard has done just that.
Rodrigo is Leeds’ top scorer with with an impressive 10 goals in 16 games. However, he’ll turn 32 in March and a younger option is clearly a requirement sooner rather than later.
Rutter has notched just twice for Hoffenheim this term, though did perform better last season when bagging eight Bundesliga goals.
He stands at 6ft tall and is left-footed, though boasts a strong weaker right foot. Each of his appearances this season have come at centre-forward, thus suggesting it’ll be leading the line or the bench if completing his move to Elland Road.
But given the high outlay, Marsch will be expected to give Rutter as many chances to thrive as possible.
As such, the Frenchman could be given the nod to start up front with Rodrigo dropping into the No 10 role he previously occupied before Bamford’s injury woes.