Brighton and Hove Albion have activated a £40 million release clause in Leeds United forward Georginio Rutter’s contract.
Albion have been reported to have had bids of £29 million and £35 million for the Frenchman turned down by Leeds, the PA news agency understands.
The Championship side, beaten in the play-off final in May, are keen to hang on to the 22-year-old.
And no other club can activate the release clause after Brighton beat the deadline of midnight last night (Wednesday 14 August), it is understood.
Leeds signed Rutter in January last year on a five-and-a-half-year contract from Hoffenheim for a club record deal which could rise to £35 million.
The Championship club now face an anxious wait for Rutter to decide whether he stays with them or moves on to the top flight with Brighton.
He has established himself as a fans’ favourite at Elland Road, scoring eight goals and making 16 assists in a total of 51 appearances last season.
But Leeds missed out on an immediate Premier League return after relegation.
Since losing 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley in May they have sold two of their best players, Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville, to Tottenham and West Ham respectively.
Leeds fans had been expecting those departures – Gray for about £30 million, which could rise to £40 million, and Summerville for a reported £25 million plus add-ons.
The loss of their talisman Rutter following last Saturday’s opening-day draw against Portsmouth would be a big blow to manager Daniel Farke’s bid for automatic promotion this season.
