'Everybody laughed' - Pundit praises U-turn from Leeds United star amid promotion bid

Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has been speaking about Georginio Rutter's form for Leeds United. Rutter was a pricey signing for the Whites last season, and indeed a big gamble at a time when the club were battling Premier League relegation.

Rutter was signed for £36million, and at the time, he wasn't ready to be thrown into a ruthless relegation battle in a country he had never played in before. Disappointing form led to criticism for the 21-year-old, but he has put all of that behind him this season.

The versatile forward has been a pivotal part of Leeds' automatic promotion bid, scoring seven and assisting 14 across all competitions. Suddenly, the investment looks like a wise one as far as the Whites are concerned, and regular praise is now the trend for Rutter rather than criticism.

Stelling is the latest to issue a verdict, saying on TalkSPORT: "Everybody laughed at Georginio Rutter when he first came to this country and he couldn’t hit a barn door. But now he looks like a class act. The biggest thing in Leeds’ favour of course is Elland Road.”

Daniel Farke also spoke about Rutter recently, praising the forward's 'wild ' side. "We must not forget that he is still like a ‘young horse’ because he is a young player and he sometimes plays wild, crazy and creative," said the Whites boss. "But he is also one of those players who you all go to the stadium to see.

"Obviously, also as a manager, when he loses his first five balls because he always goes for the risky option, you want to dig a hole in order to hide yourself because you think: ‘come on, go for the easy solution.’ But you also have to back and support him in what he’s doing as he can make a big difference. What he always does is put a shift in for the team and works hard when he loses the ball - definitely a few times too often.

"He was physical, defended and was good in his pressing and able to win some set-pieces. Before Archie’s Gray’s goal, he won the ball back in his counter-pressing and won the offensive duel to bring the ball to Archie. Obviously, he has to grow up and develop a bit in his decision-making in when to take a risk and when to play it a bit more simple and go for the easy option.

"But as long as he works for the team and is so spirited, then I will always back him and also allow him to be there with unnecessary mistakes sometimes. As we will get the benefits from his positive craziness.”