Georginio Rutter Looks Set to Lead the Brighton Attack
There was a moment against Roma at the Amex when the ball dropped for Georginio Rutter 20-odd yards out, and every Albion supporter in the ground sensed what was coming. The Frenchman shifted it onto his left foot, cutting in from the right, and bent a curler high past Mate Svilar – a goalkeeper good enough to have kept Roma in that Europa League tie last season. It was Brighton’s first open-play goal since Danny Welbeck’s departure to Chelsea, and it told us plenty about how Fabian Hürzeler might solve his summer riddle.
Because here is the question hanging over Albion’s pre-season: who leads the line now that last season’s top scorer has gone? On the evidence of the Roma win, Hürzeler’s answer might not be a conventional No.9 at all. It might just be Rutter – playing everywhere and nowhere across the front line.
Why Georginio Rutter is no ordinary No.9
Rutter will tell you himself he is not an out-and-out striker, and we can all see it. There were a couple of classic centre-forward moments early on – a chance worked by Pascal Groß that slipped away untidily – where he looked less than at home. But the modern No.9 is a shape-shifting role, and Rutter fits the newer mould perfectly. Against Roma he led the attack from a fluid No.10 position, drifted right to cut inside, then underlapped from the left to help fashion another goal. Holding the ball up, finding space at the far post, the instinctive finish – the old basics are still there. What Rutter adds is a link-man’s brain and the willingness to pop up anywhere.
Filling Welbeck’s boots
The script all summer was that Evan Ferguson would inherit the shirt, but that plan has stalled while the young Irishman recovers from ankle surgery. We are told he is looking leaner and fitter for the lay-off, which is encouraging, and Charalampos Kostoulas offers another option through the middle. For now, though, it is Rutter who looks set to lead the attack into the new campaign, as The Argus reported. Welbeck’s exit left more than goals to replace – it removed a leader and a focal point – and Rutter carrying that mantle is a bold call from a head coach who likes thinking outside the box.
A long season that begins in Norway
It is, hopefully, a long and multi-faceted season, and one that begins with a Conference League play-off first leg in Norway – a night on which Hürzeler may not even name his strongest XI. Rutter will not lead the line the way Welbeck did, and he probably should not try to. But if that curler against Roma is a sign of what is coming, Albion may have found their focal point in the least obvious place. Sometimes the best No.9 is the man who refuses to be one.
