Five weeks after the sledgehammer reports Leeds United had been ordered to cough up £24.5m for breaching Jean-Kevin Augustin’s contract, their record signing has been consigned to the 22/23 scrapheap and deemed unable to save them from relegation. Sam Allardyce’s admission Georginio Rutter is unlikely to make an impact until next season at the earliest is the latest hammer blow to Victor Orta’s recent legacy.
In a campaign which is going to the wire with Leeds needing favours from elsewhere to stay up, the decision to commit £35m on a then-20-year-old forward unproven in England has not aged well. One league start since Rutter’s January arrival said what everyone was thinking, but Allardyce, who watched the forward’s recent under-21 outings, has confirmed that suspicion.
“I don't know [if he can play a part in the final two games], to be honest,” he said. “I haven't seen enough.
