Danny Mills reveals Leeds United "issue" that may impact Georginio Rutter's future | OneFootball

Danny Mills believes Leeds United may need to sell Georginio Rutter this summer in order to balance the books.

The Whites failed to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, losing 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final.

Daniel Farke had led the team to a third place finish in the Championship table, but the defeat at Wembley Stadium consigned them to another year in the second tier.

This has led to reports that the Yorkshire outfit will need to raise funds this summer in order to stay in a solid financial position.

This has led to speculation over the futures of multiple key players in the Leeds squad, with the transfer window now officially open.

Danny Mills predicts Leeds United summer sales

Mills believes that Rutter may be sold this summer in order for the club to comply with the league’s financial rules, while keeping Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto.

He has claimed that Leeds were banking on promotion, and now that they’re stuck in the Championship they may need to make some sacrifices.

“Finance is going to be a little bit of an issue,” said Mills via BetVictor.

“They got rid of a lot of players last time.

“They had to get rid of a lot of players and a lot of them were loaned out and sent away on loan.

“I'm not sure what those deals are now, [given] the fact that they're still back in the Championship.

“There's a lot of players coming back into the football club, Aaronson comes back in, Jack Harrison comes back in.

“These are players on big money.

“I think Leeds were expecting to go up.

“So they're now going to have to balance the books again and make sure that's right.

“Similar to a lot of clubs, you know, like with Norwich and Josh Sargent.

“They might have to sell a couple of big players to balance the books to be able to keep some of the stars that they've got, the likes of Summerville and Gnonto, to keep hold of them, somebody might have to go.

“We've got this constantly, especially in the EFL, slightly in the Premier League as well.

“You're constantly looking at how do we balance the books? How do we deal with financial fair play and all those restrictions?

“It wouldn't surprise me if Rutter was moved on again to keep hold of what they've got and even strengthen with two or three more players.”

Rutter’s importance to Leeds

Leeds signed Rutter from German side Hoffenheim in the 2023 January transfer window, with the team looking to survive relegation from the Premier League.

The forward signed in a deal worth a reported £35.5 million, but failed to prevent the Whites from going down to the second division.

However, he impressed with his performances under Farke last season, contributing 6 goals and 16 assists from 45 league appearances (all stats from Fbref).

While he made a slow start to life at Elland Road, the forward has become an important part of the Leeds first team squad.

Unlikely Leeds recoup fee for Rutter this summer

If Rutter is the big-name player to make way at Leeds this summer, it is still unlikely they will be able to recoup the £35.5 million spent to sign him.

The Frenchman is the club’s record signing, and he hasn’t quite been able to live up to that tag, even if his performances did improve in his second season at the club.

However, if they can cash in on him in order to keep Summerville and Gnonto, then it should be a no-brainer move for the Whites.

Replacing Summeville and Gnonto would be a difficult task, with the Dutchman especially standing out as the side’s key man.