Having already lost Crysencio Summerville, Leeds United are seemingly set to lose Georginio Rutter to Brighton & Hove Albion, and have turned their attention towards the attacking reinforcements that they now so desperately need.
Leeds transfer news
As if losing Summerville to West Ham United and Archie Gray to Tottenham Hotspur wasn't painful enough, Brighton have now swooped into all but seal their deal to sign Rutter, despite Leeds' reported efforts to keep their star man. Daniel Farke even admitted to the media that the attacking midfielder has "more or less said goodbye" ahead of his Premier League switch in a major blow for those at Elland Road.
With just over two weeks until the transfer window slams shut too, the Whites haven't got long to find attacking reinforcements and have reportedly turned their attention towards the Scottish Premiership in pursuit of a Summerville replacement.
According to Football Scotland, Leeds have a legitimate interest in signing Rabbi Matondo from Rangers this summer, with the winger expected to be on the move from Ibrox this month, but local press in Yorkshire have now disputed the claim, with Joe Donnohue reporting Matondo is "not a target".
The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist did have some good news though, confirming the Whites are still "expected to bring in a winger", even if it may not be the Rangers youngster.
Not just Rutter: 4/10 star should never play for Leeds again after Boro
Leeds United fans wouldn’t be too sad to see the back of this dud away from Georginio Rutter’s expected exit.
1 ByKelan SarsonAug 15, 2024
Just 23 years old, the Welshman is a player with plenty of potential and could join up with his countrymen Daniel James and Ethan Ampadu by completing a move to the Midlands. That said, it remains to be seen just how much the Gers demand for Matondo, and it looks like the club may have to shop elsewhere given the latest update from Donnohue.
"Lightning" Matondo would help fill Summerville void
Whilst directly replacing Summerville's output could be an almost impossible task at this stage of the transfer window, Matondo would at least help fill that void in quality, so we wouldn't be surprised to see Leeds' interest become more serious again before the deadline.
The 23-year-old impressed at Rangers last season, scoring six goals and assisting a further four in all competitions to take his goal involvement to double figures.
Earning plenty of praise as a result, Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd said via Rangers News: “With that pace he’s got, he was lightning.
"We’ve not seen it enough in a Rangers jersey but you just kind of get the feeling that, the last few weeks… maybe because of Ryan Kent before, he always kind of thought ‘I’m not going to get in the team’, but with Ryan Kent moving on and there’s not really been anybody cemented that place at this moment at time, and there’s one thing with Rabbi Matondo – he has got blistering pace.”
Now, it could be Leeds who take advantage of that "blistering pace" as they chase Championship promotion at the second time of asking following last season's playoff heartbreak. With the transfer window approaching deadline day, they'll certainly have to act quickly in pursuit of any further targets.
