"This is a major blow for Daniel Farke" - Pundit urges Leeds United action after big Rutter update | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer has told Leeds United to act quickly and replace Georginio Rutter, who is set to join Brighton and Hove Albion

Pundit Carlton Palmer has urged Leeds United to move quickly and source a replacement for Georginio Rutter, who is poised to join Brighton and Hove Albion after seeing his £40m release clause activated at the eleventh-hour on Wednesday evening.

The Athletic were first to break the reveal, announcing the value of the clause and that the Seagulls had decided to trigger it. According to the Yorkshire Evening Post's Joe Donnuhue, the clause expired at midnight and Brighton were the only club to activate it, leaving them in pole position to finally land Rutter's signature following a summer of intense speculation.

Leeds have already lost Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville to Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United respectively, leaving them sweating over the future of Rutter and Daniel Farke with a significant rebuilding process to undertake in a bid to replace the side's high-profile outgoings and fire them towards a successful promotion campaign this time around.

However, Brighton are now set to seal the signing of Rutter as per Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, who has confirmed the French forward has agreed to join the Premier League side following a verbal agreement.

The Whites had previously knocked back a reported £30m bid from Brighton for Rutter but were powerless to prevent them from triggering his release clause right at the last minute, leaving them in a precarious position with just two weeks remaining of the summer transfer window.

Pundit reacts to Georginio Rutter, Brighton news

It has been a summer of real frustration for Leeds following the aforementioned sales of Summerville and Gray, both of whom are yet to be replaced at Elland Road.

A slow start to the season courtesy of Saturday afternoon's 3-3 opening day draw against Portsmouth followed up by their recent Carabao Cup home thrashing at the hands of Middlesbrough has amplified the pressure and the current deficit of confidence.

As such, Palmer has urged Leeds to take action immediately and successfully source a replacement for Rutter before the window slams shut, believing that the impending departure has provided a dent to the club's 2024/25 promotion ambitions.

"A major blow for Leeds United as the season is underway, an opening day draw to Portsmouth and then losing at home to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup and now Brighton have activated the £40m release clause for forward Georginio Rutter," Palmer exclusively told Football League World.

"Leeds have turned down previous offers before Brighton activated the clause at the last minute so no other club can get involved in it. Rutter joined Leeds United from Hoffenheim in January 2023 for £35.5m.

"This is a major blow for Daniel Farke, especially as the season is underway and the transfer deadline is looming. This is a real dent to Leeds' promotion hopes having already lost Summerville and Gray.

"Rutter impressed in pre-season and was a bright spark in the opening day draw with Portsmouth. He's a crucial source of creativity in attack for Leeds and he looked set to become the main man under Farke.

"Leeds will now have to move quickly to replace Rutter as he has taken the opportunity to go and play in the Premier League, which is a massive blow. They needed to recoup money and they have done with the sales of Summerville and Gray and they were not intending to sell anyone else, especially not someone who creates and scores a lot of goals for them."

Leeds United must use imminent Georginio Rutter cash wisely

Accompanied by the cash influx brought in through previous sales and now Rutter's departure from West Yorkshire, Leeds find themselves with a significant budget if they decide to reinvest the fees into the transfer market.

Not all of it will be, of course, as is the way clubs tend to spread money across the board. But they do have a lot of scope to now go out there in the market and splash the cash on the right player, which they simply must do if they are serious about promotion or even lifting the Championship title come May.

The loan market is always a low-risk and potentially cost-efficient avenue for second-tier clubs to shop in and Leeds could benefit from doing so in other areas of the pitch, though in terms of Rutter's exit they simply must go all-out for a strong replacement, potentially lodging offers too good to turn down and making a serious statement of intent in the process.

Unless they really strike gold with a player - probably from the Premier League - who you simply would not predict being loaned out in the first place, supporters will likely and rightly lose patience if the club begin to source loan or free agent replacements as they now have the requisite funds to try and fill Rutter's void to the best of their abilities, although replacing him will prove a tall order nonetheless.