David Norris does not believe Brighton & Hove Albion will splash out over the odds for Leeds United pair Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter.
Brighton were revealed to have had a bid in the region of £30m turned down by Leeds for Rutter earlier this week [BBC Sport, 2 July], shortly after securing a deal for Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle United for around the same fee.
Fabian Hurzeler’s Albion made their interest clear on Summerville last month [Fabrizio Romano, 17 June] with Leeds searching for closer to £40m for the Dutchman – they are yet to return with a stronger offer.
Former Whites midfielder Norris, speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, said: “I do still expect to see Summerville go, and [Wilfried] Gnonto as well.
“But I don’t know about Brighton. They’ve obviously shown a lot of interest but I don’t think they’ll pay what Leeds want for Summerville or Rutter.
“Maybe they’ll get one, I’m not sure, but Leeds are under less pressure to sell now Archie Gray has gone, so I can’t see Brighton escalating their offer to what the club are asking.”
Brighton chase Summerville and Rutter from Leeds United
Alongside Gnonto and the since departed Gray, Summerville and Rutter have been the names bandied about the most in terms of potential moves to the Premier League.
Leeds paid a fee of up to £36m for Rutter as their record signing, and will want to recoup at least that sum if they are to let a player go who made the Championship look comfortable last season, despite it ending in heartache.
Brighton may however find Rutter is an easier capture than Summerville, who has attracted the attention of Champions League entrants Liverpool and Europa League competitors Chelsea – but thanks to the controversial but lucrative partnership with Red Bull alongside the fee received from Tottenham for Gray, Leeds now sit in a resolute financial position.
Albion have however shown with Minteh and other past deals – Joao Pedro and Bert Verbruggen come to mind – that they are willing to invest heavily in building a squad to reach the next level, executing their transfer model superbly.
For this reason, they cannot be ruled out. They have made a gutsy move in making 31-year-old Hurzeler the youngest boss in Premier League history, and are continuing to display the nous in the transfer market which may just give Leeds their asking price on the in-demand pair.
