Georginio Rutter addresses pressure of record Leeds United transfer fee before Premier League debut

At the age of 20, Georginio Rutter has already appeared in two of Europe’s top five leagues and could appear in a third this afternoon if Jesse Marsch calls on the Frenchman. Rutter signed a contract at Elland Road until 2028 last weekend and will begin today’s match versus Brentford on the bench, according to the head coach.

With 60 senior games under his belt for previous club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the 11-goal former Bundesliga striker arrived to much fanfare last Saturday, as Leeds parted with an initial £28 million, which is set to rise to £35 million if certain clauses are triggered and conditions met.

Cutting a jovial and genial figure in his first Leeds United press conference, Rutter explained, with the help of a translator, he is solely focused on proving his worth on the pitch, and does not pay close attention to matters such as the fee Leeds have paid. Although, he did admit he hopes to repay the club for the faith shown in him by helping the team climb the Premier League table.

Saturday’s results saw Leeds slip further down the standings, staying out of the bottom three on goal difference with 17 points from 18 matches, however Marsch’s side do have two games in hand on the vast majority of their relegation rivals.

"I think looking at the league table, I think it [the club]'s in a position where it deserves to be higher. I think that the quality of players from what I've seen of them so far up close, I think we're a team that deserve to be higher in the league and hopefully we will climb that table in the next few months,” Rutter said.

"No, it's not something that puts any pressure on me at all, really,” the 20-year-old added, answering a question regarding his transfer fee. “I concentrate on playing my football doing stuff that I know I can do, doing stuff I know how to do. We'll see how things go.

"It's the clubs that negotiate. I just get on with my football,” he added.

"I want to repay the confidence that the club has shown in me, that's one thing. And the bottom line is just giving absolutely everything I can give.”