Daniel Farke breaks silence on Georginio Rutter’s Leeds United future after £40m Brighton bid

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Daniel Farke has spoken on the future of Georginio Rutter at Leeds United after news of his £40 million release clause being activated.

Farke was previewing Leeds‘ trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday lunchtime in which Rutter‘s prospective move to Brighton & Hove Albion was the main topic of conversation.

The Seagulls informed Leeds of their intention to trigger Rutter’s clause yesterday ahead of the deadline of midnight this morning, which was when it was due to expire.

Rutter has still been training at Thorp Arch today as Leeds look to convince him to stay with the offer of a new contract, though it does appear he will opt to join Brighton.

His exit would mark the third major sale of the summer at Leeds which has caused huge cause for concern among supporters, even prompting the LUFC Trust to release a statement on the matter.

Farke breaks silence on Rutter exit talk

There had still been some hope that Leeds would be able to keep Rutter, despite the news of Brighton’s £40 million bid.

Leeds looked to offer Rutter a new deal in a last ditch attempt to convince him to remain at Elland Road, but in his pre-match press conference, Farke has provided some clarity on the situation.

The Leeds boss says he is now fully expecting Rutter to complete a deal, having said his goodbyes to the squad and staff this morning.

He said: “I expect he will leave. It’s not in our hands anymore. The news came out during our prep for the game in the afternoon. Georgi was aware, I was aware, the players too. Difficult.

“Fair play to Georgi for not ruling himself out. He asked to sleep on it overnight and wanted to help us. This morning was emotional. He has more or less said goodbye to everyone.”

• READ MORE: Leeds United should ask for £9.5m Brighton attacker in return after agreeing Georginio Rutter sale

What Brighton’s manager has said about Rutter deal

With Brighton getting their season underway at Everton on Saturday, new manager Fabian Hurzeler was also asked about Rutter in his press conference today.

Despite it now being public knowledge Brighton have activated Rutter’s clause, Hurzeler opted to keep his cards close to his chest.

“First of all, I’m very happy with the squad we already have. It’s our job to search if there’s any player who fits our profile, our style of play.

“The character of the player is very important for us. If there might be a fit, we will see what happens, but to negotiations or to players we want to maybe see in our squad, I will never say anything.”