Hoffenheim are not a club who are well covered by English media. Over the past decade, Hoffenheim have managed to become a well-established Bundesliga side and have done this mainly through their exceptional wheeling-and-dealing. First comes the talent identification, second comes the playing time and finally comes the sale. This cycle is something that Hoffenheim have excelled in with many household names passing through this system.
Initially, Premier League fans will be drawn to their two previous Brazilian stars in Joelinton and Roberto Firmino. Joelinton was signed from SC Recife in the lower reaches of Brazilian football when he was still a teenager for approximately €2.2m. After a years loan at Rapid Vienna and a few more seasons at Hoffenheim he was then sold to Newcastle United for €44.0m. Similarly, Roberto Firmino, who has gone on to win various titles and trophies with Liverpool also came from a lowly Brazilian side. He was signed from Tombense in 2011 for €4.0m and four years later sold for a huge €37.0m profit. (fees sourced from TransferMarkt).
Domestically, they have also nurtured the talent of David Raum and Niklas Süle, who have been sold to RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich respectively – and are both German internationals. Both these players were signed on free transfers as youth players from other German sides who hadn’t been able to nurture their talent.
This brings us to Georginio Rutter, a French U21 international who since his arrival from his home country has caught the eye of many clubs. Hoffenheim signed Rutter from Rennes in 2021 for a measly €750k, now Leeds United are reported to be smashing their transfer record on the promising forward, just 18 months after moving to Germany. On the face of it his stats perhaps are not much to shout about. His goal ratio falls slightly behind the one in every two when looking from a starts perspective. From 26 Bundesliga starts he has eleven goals. If we are to go by minutes (2,861) he scores every 260 mins. So, why were so many clubs, including Leeds, interested in Rutter? Let’s have a look.
The graphic above taken from FBRef.com compares Rutter to other forwards in Europe’s elite divisions such as the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and also the Champions League. Green highlights his best performing metrics while the more red highlights the negative metrics in his game.
As expected given his goal tally, for a forward we can see that for goals he is not scoring highly based on his last 1852 minutes of data that has been recorded by FBRef. His goals are possibly lacking due to his lack of shots. Oddly though, Hoffenheim are averaging the fifth most shots in the Bundesliga this season, so you might’ve expected his average shot count to be higher than it is. Nevertheless, if you’re not shooting, you’re not scoring. He averages 2.48 shots per 90, which scores in the 45th percentile.
In terms of his shot-creating actions (SCA) and expected assisted goals (xAG), he performs much better which showcases his ability to link-up well with his teammates and also create solid chances for his team to score from. Despite this, his assist count is actually pretty low, which maybe suggests his teammates aren’t finishing the chances he is creating or helping to create.
Leeds coach Jesse Marsch is currently playing a system whereby the ball is supposed to transition between the lines swiftly. Progression up the field is key and being able to win the ball back high up the pitch is also something that he demands of his team. Whether that has been implemented well enough at Elland Road is still up for debate. What isn’t up for debate is Rutter’s suitability to this style of play, for a few different reasons too.
Initially, we can see that despite not passing often his progressive passing stats score very high, scoring him within the 84th percentile for forwards. A progressive pass is defined by moving the ball at least ten yards further up the field than the previous six passes, this highlights an eagerness to attack quickly and directly, something that Marsch and the talent ID will have looked into at Leeds.
Another way of getting up the field is through ball carrying, in other words dribbling. Rutter completes 2.48 dribbles per 90, which lands him in the 98th percentile for forwards. For some perspective, Kylian Mbappé carries out 2.61 dribbles per 90, therefore Rutter is in some extreme company for completed dribbles.
Finally, we are going to look at some of the more defensive statistics. Leeds are an aggressive pressing team and although it still isn’t completely clear if it is working the addition of Rutter will no doubt help. For tackles, he scores within the 73rd percentile and averages 0.83 tackles a game. For interceptions, something Leeds will be keen on him doing, he scores in the 93rd percentile. While his number is only 0.44 interceptions, almost one every other game could be an interception that leads to a goal-scoring opportunity with him being so high up the field. Rutter is also not scared to put his body on the line and has achieved an average of 1.31 blocks per 90, scoring in the 99th percentile. Which area of the field these blocks happen in is not clear, however it is an interestingly high metric for a forward and is worth mentioning.
Rutter will arrive from Germany having been used to playing with a strike partner in a 3-5-2 system. This will change up dramatically once he arrives at Elland Road. Leeds like to enforce a 4-1-2-3 or 4-3-3, so build-up will be very different and will be something he has to acclimatise to.
Statswise FC 