Brighton break transfer record to sign Georginio Rutter – summer spending hits €170.2m

Release clause triggered 

Brighton have continued their lavish summer spending spree by confirming the signing of Leeds United forward Georginio Rutter. The Seagulls have been pursuing the former Hoffenheim star for much of the summer transfer window only to finally settle on triggering the player’s release clause just before it expired. They have now completed the deal for a reported fee of €46.7 million, becoming the South-coast club’s record signing, moving above the €35m they paid for Newcastle winger Yankuba Minteh earlier this summer. It appears they’re not finished yet too, with the club reportedly still targeting Celtic’s Matt O’Riley and Fenerbahce full-back Ferdi Kadioglu before the deadline on August 30.

Indeed, Rutter heads to the Amex Stadium as Brighton’s seventh permanent transfer of the summer window and will take the club’s spending to €170.2m – which is more than what the club had spent on new players in the last two seasons combined. Alongside Rutter breaking the club’s transfer record, fellow new recruits Brajan Gruda from Mainz (€30m transfer fee) and Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord (€30m) also take fourth and third place respectively on the club’s list of most expensive signings ever. Which certainly suggests that the Seagulls are wasting no time in financially supporting new head coach Fabian Hürzeler, who also joined the club this summer from St Pauli. 

In stark contrast, Leeds United are going through something of a summer clear-out in the current transfer window. Once Rutter signs on the dotted line for Brighton the Championship club’s total income from player sales will hit a remarkable sum of €162m. Alongside the sale of the aforementioned forward, Leeds have also bid farewell to Archie Gray, who joined Tottenham for €41.25m, sold Crysencio Summerville to West Ham for €29.3m and allowed Luis Sinisterra to depart for Bournemouth for a fee of €23.4m. In total the club have seen 13 senior players depart this summer either through deals or free transfers and Rutter will likely join that list in the coming days as the club’s most valuable transfer.