Summary Georginio Rutter went from being a disappointment last season to a key player for Leeds United's promotion push. Rutter has impressed with 7 goals and 12 assists this season, showcasing his value as a creator on the pitch. Leeds fans can now see why the club made a significant investment in Rutter, who is proving his worth in the Championship.
Leeds United have recovered from the bruising experience of relegation remarkably well, managing to pick up the pieces under Daniel Farke to mount a serious attempt at immediately returning to the Premier League this season.
The likes of Crysencio Summerville and Daniel James have bamboozled Championship defences all season long from down the wings, whilst figures once on the periphery such as Wilfried Gnonto have also proven their worth by turning their fortunes around.
Another that falls under the Gnonto label is Georginio Rutter, with some associated with the West Yorkshire club writing off the £36m mega buy after he failed to get going in his new environment last season.
Now, those who once labelled Rutter as an expensive flop look rather foolish with the skillful Frenchman now key to Farke's promotion chasers and their hopes of leaping back up to the top-flight.
Georginio Rutter's first impressions
There always going to be immense pressure on Rutter's shoulders with the hefty price tag above his head, never mind the fact the 21-year-old was entering Elland Road in the midst of a horror campaign.
The former TSG Hoffenheim man wasn't used effectively last season at all as Leeds suffered relegation, only making 11 appearances in total with one assist notched up from that forgettable span of games.
It wasn't a surprise at the time to hear remarks around Rutter being a waste of money, with Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross even describing the Whites attacker as a "non-entity" after a poor showing against Chelsea last season.
Cross' harsh assessment at the time was justified, with the Leeds number 24 completing just four accurate passes at Stamford Bridge across a second-rate 68-minute spell on the pitch.
However, any talk about Rutter not pulling his weight in the present would be sneered at with the ex-Hoffenheim forward integral to how Leeds have succeeded in the second tier this campaign.
Georginio Rutter's numbers this season
Farke has managed to get more out of his £70k per week man in the drop down to the division below by playing to the dynamic attacker's strengths, seen in the Frenchman excelling when played as a creator over being an out-and-out prolific goalscorer.
Amassing an impressive 19 combined goals and assists in all competitions, with 12 of those sticking out as assists, Rutter is key to how Farke's men operate going forward not just from a standpoint of finding the back of the net with confidence.
Leeds fans are now finally seeing why Victor Orta decided to splash excessive amounts to land Rutter when he did, with his excellent form at Hoffenheim – which saw the Frenchman bag eight goals in his last full Bundesliga season – coming to the forefront now in West Yorkshire.
The worry could well be that the 21-year-old might not be able to handle the step-up in quality if Leeds manage to soar to promotion, but Rutter will again be eager to prove any doubters wrong as he has done this season to silence his harshest critics.
Scoring the decisive second game-clinching goal against Plymouth Argyle last time out, Rutter, who was described as a "monster" by Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie earlier this term, will hope to continue firing in goals and teeing up his teammates to slot home on the way to the Whites returning back to the Premier League.
With Leeds cursing many expensive mistakes over the last couple of years, the Whites hierarchy will now know breaking the bank for the impressive magician was the correct risk to take.