Michael Bridges suggested that he wanted Daniel Farke to take one Leeds United star off after just 32 minutes of the final pre-season friendly against Valencia on Saturday.
Leeds completed their pre-season preparations with a clash with Los Che at Elland Road ahead of the new Championship season next week. And Daniel Farke will have been delighted by what he saw from his players during the first-half.
Farke certainly appears to have dropped a clear hint on what his lineup will be for the opening game, with the Leeds boss seemingly going full strength against La Liga opposition.
Mateo Joseph did brilliantly to give Leeds an early lead, while Joe Rodon picked up where he left off with a commanding defensive display alongside Pascal Struijk.
Michael Bridges wanted Leeds star taken off before half-time against Valencia
But the star of the show was surely Georginio Rutter, with the Frenchman doubling Leeds’ lead just before the interval with a sumptuous chip which managed to clear a defender on the goalline.
Georginio was a little rusty early on, with his first few touches of the ball resulting in Leeds losing possession. But he quickly found his way into the game, and produced some moments of magic – including the second goal of the afternoon.
It was after one run into the box where Georginio beat two players before winning a corner that Bridges told LUTV that he wanted to see him taken off as soon as possible.
“I tell you what, I’d be subbing Georginio Rutter now, I’d be getting him off, because the amount of teams that are watching this performance, I don’t want to lose him before the season. What a player,” he said.
Whites have already fended off Premier League interest
Of course, Bridges would admit after the goal that he was glad that Georginio remained on the pitch – but would then repeat the call for a substitution.
Leeds have had to fend off offers for their record signing this summer, with Brighton making a £30 million bid for Georginio. That was a clear statement of intent that the Whites have no intention of letting the youngster leave in this window.
Georginio was one of the best players in the Championship last season, so he could have a massive role to play in getting Leeds across the line this time around.
Based on his performance against Valencia, Georginio is very much raring to go.
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