Brighton & Hove Albion have secured the signing of French forward Georginio Rutter from Leeds United for a club record fee of £40 million. Rutter, aged 22, has joined the Seagulls on a five-year contract.
Rutter previously made 66 appearances and scored eight goals for Leeds after joining them from Hoffenheim in January 2023. This transfer, which broke Leeds' own transfer record at the time, was worth up to £36 million.
Brighton’s technical director, David Weir, commented, “He's a strong technical player and one we are excited to bring to the club. We look forward to seeing him continue to develop with us.”
Brighton’s manager, Fabian Hurzeler, stated, “Georginio is a player who has the capabilities to get fans off their seats and really showed what he can do in English football with Leeds last season - but I have known about him since he played in Germany for Hoffenheim.” Hurzeler, the Premier League’s youngest manager at 31, added, “Now we have to integrate him into the team. We're looking forward to working with him.”
Leeds United expressed that they made “every effort” to retain Rutter despite Brighton activating his release clause. Rutter played for Leeds in their opening Championship game against Portsmouth and made his final appearance in the League Cup tie against Middlesbrough.
Brighton’s next Premier League match is against Manchester United on Saturday, following their 3-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park in their season opener.
