One hurdle remains as Brighton trigger £40m deal for Leeds star and Ornstein reveals transfer chances

Leeds United are in serious danger of losing Georginio Rutter before the end of the week after Brighton triggered the £40m release clause in the forward’s deal and with reporter David Ornstein revealing the prospects of the transfer going through.

The Whites have endured a tumultuous summer window after last season’s narrow promotion miss, which condemned Leeds United to a second season of Championship football. And after missing out on the huge sums of cash that comes with playing in the Premier League, their supporters have had to sit back and watch as two of their best players in Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville have been sold off to Tottenham and West Ham, respectively.

Sadly for the Whites, and despite raising some £95m in sales – when also factoring in the exits of the likes of Marc Roca, Diego Llorente and Glen Kamara – it may not be the end of the departures at Elland Road this summer.

That’s after it emerged that, just hours after their disastrous Carabao Cup performance that saw them dumped out of the competition off the back of a damaging 3-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough, Brighton have now triggered a deal to sign Rutter after matching the £40m exit clause in his deal.

IN DEPTH ➡️ The 10 most expensive Leeds United sales of all time, including Man Utd and Barcelona deals

The Seagulls have made no secret of their interest in signing the Frenchman, who moved to Elland Road in a deal worth an initial £29.4m but rising to a club-record £35m back in January 2023.

And while the Frenchman struggled in his initial period at Elland Road as the Whites suffered relegation from the Premier League, Rutter showed exactly the player Leeds thought they were signing, by scoring eight goals and adding 16 assists from 51 appearances in all competitions last season.

Georginio Rutter: Brighton trigger Leeds clause as big decision looms

As a result, news of Brighton interest in acquiring the flamboyant Frenchman quickly emerged early in the summer window, with Leeds happily swatting away offers of £29m and £35m for the 22-year-old over June and July.

However, a clause in his deal – which TEAMtalk can confirm is worth £40m and only became active upon Leeds’ failure to secure promotion back to the Premier League – means Brighton always knew exactly what it would take to prise him away from Elland Road.

As a result, trusted reporter Ornstein has now confirmed that the Seagulls have indeed triggered that £40m fee, leaving Leeds with little choice but to accept the move and with the possibility of a transfer now left in the player’s hands.

A willingness by Rutter to make the move to the AMEX Stadium is one hurdle still awaiting, while the agreement of personal terms and a medical are another, though neither of the latter two are expected to be an issue.

As a result, Rutter will now face a big decision over the course of Thursday morning over whether to take his chance to speak with Brighton, or remain loyal to Farke’s side.

However, despite the player’s clear affection to Leeds, it would come as a surprise were he to turn down the opportunity of playing Premier League football and all the signs would point to a third major exit at Elland Road this summer.

Indeed, an update on the saga provided by another reporter, Florian Plettenberg, claims Rutter has agreed to make the move and will now travel to Brighton for talks and a medical, with the deal expected to be formalised in the next 72 hours.

Should the move go through, Rutter will become the joint most costly departure in Championship history, alongside Gray, and ahead of Summerville, leaving Leeds with the unwanted record of having all three of the top five biggest sales against their name and incredibly over the course of this summer’s window.

IN DEPTH ➡️ The 10 most expensive Championship to Premier League transfers after Summerville and Gray exits from Leeds

Leeds yet to comment on Rutter links

The Leeds policy is not to comment on transfer speculation before the ink is dried on such moves and that’s the same with any incoming or outgoing at Elland Road.

However, Farke has already made his feelings clear on Rutter and knows his importance to the Leeds cause.

“His talent and potential is outstanding, but lots of work is necessary,” said Farke in an interview last October. “Sometimes chooses the harder option. We have worked on his effectiveness. Top level for goal involvement. Improve his ability to score more goals. He can be really, really special player in the future.“

Meanwhile, Farke has given his thoughts on team’s disappointing performance as they exited the cup against Boro on Wednesday night.

The defeat also means Leeds have conceded six goals from just two games already this season, though he refused to blame his changes on the loss.

“Congratualtions to Boro, they deserved to win. Over 90 they played with more consistency and were the better side. Tight first half. Some advantages for us, but we had a poor 20 at the start of the second half. They created chances during this. They went 2-0 up and we tried to change everything with five changes and conceded a third. But the game had gone then. We tried everything to get a foot back in the door, some fight, some chances. At 3-0 down against a really good side, it’s difficult to turn the game. This 20 minutes was crucial.”

On his team changes, he added: “No, they do not need to be too critical tonight. When you rotate eight players it is not healthy for the group. I’m a believer in not rotating too much at the start of the season. I know this and did this. Players do not need to be too self-critical. My decision. Some players we needed to rest like Daniel James Pre-season injury. Mateo young players.

“Also felt we had some players not with 100 per cent yet and needed minutes. Third reason: quick turnaround. Early kick-off. Difficult away game. I risked this game with the rotations. Hoped to find a way to be successful. Without a risk then every team would do it. Not the reason for the players who did not deliver. I am responsible we won’t win this cup. I take it on the chin.”