Arriving in January, Georginio Rutter didn’t exactly enter Elland Road at an ideal time, with the Leeds United in the middle of what would prove to be an unsuccessful relegation battle, and managerial changes coming thick and fast.
Despite being just 21-years-old, the pressure was instantly on Rutter to hit the ground running, having made the move for a reported £36m. The general consensus around January signings is that they’re brought in to play the role of game-changers, ideally luxury additions who arrive in a steady system and inject that extra bit of quality.
That is something that Rutter failed to do, partly due to his own form but also due to the circumstances, and he has since cut a frustrated figure, even struggling to make his mark in the Championship.
Following his most recent poor display, coming in a 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday, Daniel Farke has revealed he’s been holding direct discussions with the striker about his mentality in front of goal.
What has Daniel Farke said?
Sometimes, all a player needs is an arm round their shoulder and a confidence boost, and Farke has seemingly recognised that. The Leeds manager revealed that he spoke to Rutter after the Sheffield Wednesday stalemate, saying, via Leeds Live: “I think what is (important) for him is that he’s not injured, that he’s fit, he comes into his rhythm and I think his performance was improved last weekend at Ipswich. He is actually in a really good shape.
“I was a striker as well; you can’t really explain. Sometimes you have times when you find it unbelievably difficult to use your chances to score, and sometimes you just have to look at the ball and the ball goes in anyhow. It feels a bit like Georginio is in this period.
“But I spoke to him and told him ‘listen, the solution is not to overthink things too much. When you have a situation, when you find it difficult to bring the ball in the back of the net, then don’t try to be too artificial in your approach’.”
The former Norwich City boss will now hope to see an improved performance from his forward after the international break, having held what could prove to be crucial talks with an arm round the shoulder.
How has Rutter performed this season?
In five Championship appearances so far this season, Rutter has managed just one goal, which came in Leeds’ only league win of the season, against Ipswich Town.
The 21-year-old would have been hoping to build on that goal against Sheffield Wednesday, but instead endured a performance to forget. As per Sofascore, Rutter actually lost the ball as many times as he completed a pass, with ten apiece, in what is the most worrying statistic of all, implying when he’s not on the scoresheet he’s also not providing much in the way of general play.
Meanwhile, the Frenchman also missed two big chances, and won just four out of 13 duels. The fact is, the numbers show that it wasn’t just a day to forget for Rutter, it was a day in which his Leeds career was perfectly summed up.
There’s still plenty of time for him to turn things around at Elland Road, and fans will hope Farke’s careful approach with the youngster proves to be the right one.
