- 12 hours ago
Why Chelsea must END Georginio Rutter pursuit
Cameron Smith
- 15 Apr 2025 12:45 CDT
- 3 min read
Analysis
Chelsea are reportedly looking to raid Brighton & Hove Albion once again this summer, with Georginio Rutter the latest Seagulls star to attract interest from the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The Frenchman moved to the AMEX Stadium for a club-record fee of €46.7 million in 2024 and his form so far this season has garnered attention from Enzo Maresca’s side, according to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg.
READ MORE: Chelsea fans on RED ALERT as Cole Palmer issues worrying message
Current ETV
Georginio Rutter
F, M (C)
Brighton
Georginio Rutter
F, M (C)
Brighton
ETV Range
€37M - €45.3M
Rutter has eight goals and four assists in 32 appearances since his move to Brighton last August, and Chelsea have reportedly added him to their transfer shortlist ahead of the 2025 summer transfer window after “closely monitoring” his development.
Although the former Leeds United star has displayed his impressive skillset so far this season, a move to Chelsea makes almost no sense for every single party involved.
READ MORE: Chelsea prepare HUGE swap deal to re-sign Marc Guehi
Why Georginio Rutter shouldn’t join Chelsea
From Chelsea’s perspective, Rutter simply shouldn’t be a priority target. The Blues are in desperate need of a reliable goalkeeper and a reliable goalscorer, and those two issues must be fixed before moving onto more luxury signings.
Furthermore, Cole Palmer is already a guaranteed starter in Rutter’s best position, while Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez are both reportedly viewed as attacking midfielders by the Chelsea hierarchy too.
Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku are also still employed by Chelsea and they must be offloaded before the club even think about bringing another No.10 to west London.
In addition, Brighton are likely to demand a premium transfer fee yet again after extracting huge sums of money from the sales of both Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo in recent years.
Rutter has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €41.2m, but it’s easy to imagine that Brighton would request at least €100m in order to sanction a sale to Chelsea, and he simply isn’t worth that much.
From Rutter’s perspective, a move to Chelsea also doesn’t make much sense. He’s enjoyed a great first season at Brighton, he has the full trust of Fabian Hurzeler and the Seagulls are set for another impressive finish this year.
If he joins Chelsea, he would lose a guarantee of game time and arrive at a club who have an incessant desire to sign more players.
As for Brighton, a huge sale would help their business model, but Seagulls fans will no doubt want to see their current crop of stars remain at the club for the foreseeable future and Rutter certainly fits that billing.
