Bizarre Georginio Rutter trait right now is a real boost for Leeds United: View | OneFootball

Georginio Rutter has been one of Leeds United's most important figures for quite some time this season - and even on his off days, he is still contributing to their success.

Leeds have just eight games left in their Championship season, knowing that if they win all eight then they'll earn promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Many have stood up to the test; Archie Gray and Joe Rodon at the back, Ethan Ampadu in the centre, and plenty of attacking players who have seen Leeds become the fourth-most prolific side in the league.

But there is one player who, despite perhaps not being at his best, is still coming up with the goods - in the form of Rutter. And his contributions are massively helping the Whites.

Why Georginio Rutter's bizarre trait is helping Leeds United

Rutter has been a man bang in form right from the get go in the Championship campaign.

Registering his first goal of the season in late August against Ipswich, before tallying a first assist of the season against Millwall just weeks later, he's been largely indispensible to Daniel Farke as Leeds' main striker.

Whilst others such as Crysencio Summerville, Joel Piroe and Daniel James have all chipped in with their fair share of goals going forward, the Frenchman has turned into the assist king at Elland Road with an outstanding 17 assists in the league - and that's been a major reason as to why the Whites have only dropped two points in the league throughout the new year.

However, somewhat of a dry patch between Christmas and mid-February saw Rutter only pick up one goal and no assists in that period despite Leeds continuing to win - and even now, he hasn't quite been as effective as people at the club would have hoped in what has been a slight drop-off from the youngster.

But this is where Rutter's bizarre trait comes in.

Having dropped back to play more of a 'second striker' role where Joel Piroe typically plied his trade, he still has a complete knack of picking up assists and goals, which is ultimately the main reason Leeds have gone top of the Championship ahead of the international break.

Two assists against Millwall - both being threaded final-third passes that wingers James and Willy Gnonto finished with aplomb - showed that whilst Rutter may not be at his prolific best at present, he's still a force to be reckoned with and has that special ability to change a game at any time.

Six assists in his last five games is a superb tally regardless of how you play, and whilst he may not be as effective on the eye as he was for the majority of the games in the first half of the campaign, it's the sign of a strong team when players aren't performing to their full capabilities and results are still being ground out.

How Georginio Rutter fared in the Premier League

Rutter was brought in to Elland Road in a record-breaking £35million deal last January with the Whites facing relegation from the top-flight, with fans hoping he would be their saviour in their third Premier League season - but it was to no avail.

Just 11 appearances, including a solitary start against Chelsea, saw him fail to make an impact in west Yorkshire and the only goal contribution he achieved was an assist on the final day against Tottenham - though it didn't matter one bit with Everton beating Bournemouth to consign Leeds to relegation.

Many were sceptical that Rutter would be able to dust himself down and go again in the second-tier, but he did just that and looks set to be one of the key performers should Leeds win promotion come the start of May - which could stand him in good stead for next season.