Georginio Rutter is starting to show that he could be Brighton & Hove Albion’s best hope of coping without Joao Pedro.
Rutter scored his first goal on his 16th Premier League appearance (five have come for Brighton, 11 for former club Leeds United) in Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Chelsea, which Joao Pedro missed through injury.
The Frenchman’s header seven minutes into the game at Stamford Bridge was a false dawn in terms of the result, but a leap forward in how much better equipped Brighton are this season to absorb periods without their main man in the front line.
Rutter, the club-record £40million ($53.3m) signing from Leeds in August, is an additional threat for opponents to worry about. The 22-year-old is also the player most capable of compensating for most of the qualities missed when Joao Pedro is not in the team.
The Brazilian, 23, was ruled out at Chelsea by a twisted ankle sustained in the 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest. Joao Pedro had only been on the pitch for 12 minutes of that match, having returned as a substitute from a two-match absence with a minor injury on international duty for his country.
He was hurt in a tackle by Morgan Gibbs-White, which led to a red card for the opposition midfielder for a second bookable offence. Head coach Fabian Hurzeler, speaking before the Chelsea game, said: “I am not sure how long he will be out. It’s a little bit of an issue with his ankle. When you see this tackle, his ankle was fixed and it twisted a little bit. That is the thing that caused the issue and the most pain, the twisting of the ankle.”
So far, Hurzeler has used Rutter in three successive league games, which followed his two late introductions from the bench as both the No 10 and on the right wing. That mirrors the versatility of Joao Pedro, who is also sometimes used as Brighton’s No 9.
Rutter was on the right flank against Chelsea, with Simon Adingra sidelined as a precaution by a minor injury. As well as his goal, the former Leeds man produced a purposeful performance. Like Joao Pedro, he has the ability to make a difference.
They are built differently, but they have the individual skills and speed to beat opposing defenders and make things happen, as well as the energy and appetite to press with intensity out of possession in the manner Hurzeler demands of his front line.
There is no denying how important Joao Pedro has become to Brighton since a £30million move from Watford in June 2023. He has been the main goalscorer, with 22 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions. He has been responsible for one-third of Brighton’s 66 team goals in those games and nine of his goals have been match-winners, the most recent example being a stoppage-time header against Manchester United at the Amex Stadium in August.
When Joao Pedro scores, Brighton usually win — they have a 75 per cent win rate and have lost only 12.5% of matches when he has scored. The win rate drops to 27% and the loss rate rises to 54% in games without Joao Pedro.
The types of goals are also instructive about Joao Pedro’s overall value to the team. He had a 10 out of 10 record with penalties last season under former head coach Roberto De Zerbi until Aston Villa’s Robin Olsen saved his 87th-minute spot kick at the Amex in May, but the Brazilian still managed to convert the rebound to secure a 1-0 victory. The non-penalty goals he has scored comprise five with his right foot, one with his left foot, four headers and a tap-in.
Rutter is not an obvious deputy as Brighton’s penalty taker. Success with four out of five spot kicks between 2018 and 2020 dates back to his spell at Hoffenheim and appearances for France at junior level.
Hurzeler is conscious of the need not to rely too heavily on Joao Pedro. Speaking before his team’s draw with Nottingham Forest on September 22, he said: “It’s very important that not only we know, but also the opponent knows that we have several players who have the ability to score, who have the ability to make the difference.
“I think every team in the Premier League has this key player; has this player who makes a difference. In our way, it’s Joao Pedro, but we have also other great players who can make the difference.
“We have (Kaoru) Mitoma, he can make the difference. Simon (Adingra) can make the difference. (Yankuba) Minteh can, (Danny) Welbeck has already scored (three goals in six league games). We now have Georginio Rutter. We have Evan Ferguson, who everyone knows has the ability to make goals. We have young players in the midfield like Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari.
“They all have the ability to score, so we have to help them score, to increase their percentage of making assists, of making goals. That’s our job to develop them and to make a team that’s not only fixed on one player. That’s very important.”
With that in mind, the spread of goals in the opening eight matches under Hurzeler in all competitions is encouraging. Rutter became the 10th different player on the scoresheet at Chelsea.
Welbeck is currently Hurzeler’s first choice No 9, with Evan Ferguson easing his way back from ankle surgery in April, while enigmatic Paraguay talent Julio Enciso provides a No 10 alternative.
Rutter cannot help Brighton in the Carabao Cup — they face Liverpool at home in the last 16 later this month — having played for Leeds earlier in the competition. He is not a natural goalscorer, either. The majority of his 40 goal contributions in 115 appearances in the past three seasons for Leeds and, before that, Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, were assists (23). This emphasises that Rutter is more of a forward-thinking maker than a taker of goals.
Progressive passes are defined by FBref as completed passes that move the ball at least 10 yards towards the opposition goal line or completed passes into the penalty area. Rutter leads this metric for Brighton’s attacking players with a total of 19.
That is two more than nearest challenger Mitoma from a lot less playing time (226 minutes compared to 531 minutes for the Japan winger). Rutter’s arrival has both improved Hurzeler’s range of attacking potency and the prospect of still getting results without Joao Pedro.
(Top photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
