Leeds United made a shrewd move over the summer as they opted to appoint German head coach Daniel Farke to replace Sam Allardyce in the dugout at Elland Road.
The 46-year-old tactician arrived with a proven track record of winning promotion from the Championship as he won two league titles during his time at Norwich City.
They have a manager in the building who knows what it takes to get out of this division and he could use his experience to get the Whites back to the big time this season.
Farke’s title-winning seasons with Norwich:
|
Statistic |
2018/19 |
2020/21 |
|---|---|---|
|
Points |
94 |
97 |
|
Goals for |
93 |
75 |
|
Goals against |
57 |
36 |
|
Games won |
27 |
29 |
A big feature of Farke’s two promotions with Norwich was the magical play from Emiliano Buendia at the top end of the pitch as he consistently delivered match-winning performances with his ability to frequently score and assist goals.
The German tinkerer could now find his next version of the Argentina international in Georginio Rutter, who could develop into a monster for the club in the Championship this term – based on his form so far.
How many goals has Rutter scored this season?
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, the French centre-forward has found the back of the net twice in four league starts for Leeds.
He is starting to find his feet at Elland Road after a difficult first five months in England after his big-money move to the club at the start of the year.
Leeds lavished a club-record £35.5m out to sign him from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim during the January transfer window as they attempted to avoid relegation to the Championship.
However, the 21-year-old forward found the step up to Premier League football tough to deal with and was unable to prevent the side from dropping out of the top-flight.
Rutter averaged a dismal Sofascore rating of 6.53 across 11 league matches for the Whites and failed to contribute with a single goal or ‘big chance’ created for his teammates. He also only completed 52% of his attempted passes and lost 55% of his duels in total, as per Sofascore.
23 Leeds players averaged a higher Sofascore rating than the January signing and this illustrates how disappointing he was after such a big transfer from Hoffenheim.
However, Farke’s appointment has been perfect for him so far as the 21-year-old ace has enjoyed a terrific start to the season with his brilliant performances at the top end of the pitch.
Like Buendia did for the German head coach, Rutter is providing a big threat as a scorer and a creator in the final third. Whilst he is not a winger like the Argentine ace, the young dynamo is excelling in a role that allows him to drop deep to collect the ball with Joel Piroe able to then run beyond him into a number nine position.
This means that the former Hoffenheim man can get on the ball to influence matches and that is exactly what he has been doing over the last six weeks or so.
Rutter has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.28 across five Championship outings this season, which is the sixth-highest in the squad, and contributed with two goals and five ‘big chances’ created.
The talented Frenchman has created two chances per match for his teammates so far and produced a phenomenal display in the recent win over Millwall over the weekend.
He received a game-high Sofascore rating of 8.6 and caught the eye with an impressive five key passes and two ‘big chances’ created to go along with his goal, which was well taken into the roof of the net from Dan James’ cross.
There are signs that the potential is there for Rutter, who was once hailed as “complete” and a player with “blistering” pace by talent scout Jacek Kulig, to be a Buendia-esque figure for Farke at the top end of the pitch.
How many Championship goals did Buendia score for Norwich?
The Argentina international scored 22 goals in 77 Championship appearances for the Canaries across their two title-winning seasons at that level.
Buendia arrived in Norfolk from Getafe in the summer of 2018 and enjoyed a fantastic first year in English football as he averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.25 across 38 league outings and contributed with eight goals and 12 assists to go along with seven ‘big chances’ created.
The 26-year-old whiz followed that up, after a relegation from the Premier League, with a stunning return of 15 goals and 16 assists in 39 Championship games throughout the 2020/21 campaign.
He won the Championship Player of the Year award for his fantastic performances at the top end of the pitch for the Canaries on their way to the title.
This led to Aston Villa swooping to secure his services for a reported fee of £33m, three years on from his £1.6m switch from Getafe under Farke, and this is a perfect example of the German boss’ ability to develop attacking talent at this level.
The former Norwich manager has proven that he can coach an effective attacking unit and produce a system that allows an exceptional talent like Buendia to thrive.
Rutter could be the next star to benefit from Farke’s coaching and management at Championship level as his early-season performance suggest that he is on the way to having a terrific campaign for Leeds.
The 21-year-old magician is yet to prove that he can score goals and create ‘big chances’ on a consistent basis over the course of an entire year, as Buendia did for Norwich, but it has been a promising start and one that supporters can get excited about.
This dynamic centre-forward role that allows him to interchange with Piroe and link up with the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto at the top end of the pitch has resulted in some sublime performances from the ex-Hoffenheim man.
The task for him now is to continue his run of form for the next eight months or so in order to spearhead Leeds’ return to the Premier League with goals and assists on a regular basis in the same way that Buendia did for the Canaries under Farke.