Leeds chose to sign Georginio Rutter instead of £20m man, he now has 36 goals and 14 assists this season

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Leeds actually looked at signing one of Europe’s best strikers before bringing Georginio Rutter to Elland Road in January 2023.

That is according to The Athletic.

So, who did Leeds consider signing before sealing a deal for Georginio Rutter? Let’s take a look…

Leeds looked at Viktor Gyokeres before signing Georginio Rutter

Well – according to The Athletic – Leeds had a look at buying Viktor Gyokeres from Coventry before eventually settling on a £35.5m deal to sign Rutter from TSG Hoffenheim.

The France U21 international was bizarrely overlooked by Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce despite the money invested to sign him, making just one Premier League start as Leeds were relegated.

Rutter has since blossomed into a star this season with seven goals and 18 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions – although his efforts are simply incomparable to what Gyokeres has done.

The Sweden international was eventually snapped up by Portuguese giants Sporting CP for just £20m back in July, and has since become one of the best players in Europe.

Leeds nearly signed a truly elite striker

Gyokeres may have been nothing more than a Championship striker to some last season, but he is now being recognised as one of Europe’s elite centre-forwards.

The Swede has remarkably scored 36 goals in just 39 appearances this season – while also providing 14 assists.

50 goal involvements in just 39 outings is simply ridiculous – it is no wonder Arsenal have apparently made Gyokeres their No.1 target ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Gunners are believed to be ready to trigger the 25-year-old’s €100m (£85m) release clause.

Of course, nobody at Elland Road is disappointed to have Rutter in Yorkshire instead of the Sporting CP talisman, although it is hard to ignore just how close Leeds came to signing someone with more goals than Erling Haaland this season.