Chelsea have reportedly added Brighton & Hove Albion attacker Georginio Rutter to their shortlist of summer transfer targets.
After a standout 2023-24 season with Leeds United, where he recorded seven goals and 15 assists in 48 Championship games, Rutter completed a club-record £40m move to Brighton last summer.
The soon-to-be 23-year-old, who penned a contract until 2028, has since featured regularly under Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler this season, featuring in 32 matches across all competitions.
Rutter, a versatile forward who can operate as a number 10, out wide or as a central striker, has chipped in with eight goals and five assists this term, including a strike away against Chelsea in a 4-2 defeat in September last year.
The Frenchman is believed to be content at Brighton after almost a year at the club, but speculation over a possible exit ahead of next season has surfaced.
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Chelsea 'closely monitoring' Brighton forward Rutter
According to Sky Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenberg, Chelsea are closely monitoring the development of Rutter and have added him to their summer transfer shortlist.
It remains unknown as to how much the Blues would be willing to spend should they step up their pursuit of Rutter, but Brighton would likely set a high asking price as they would only entertain making a significant profit on a player relatively new to the club.
Speaking last month, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber hinted at how the club would demand big fees for some of their star players "in order to make our model work".
As quoted by The Athletic, Barber said: "Rutter and, to a lesser extent, Joao Pedro were high-tide marks for us. We are not comfortable buying at those levels and we will always be looking to buy at lower levels in order to make our model work.
"The problem when you are spending at those sorts of levels is that the headroom is far more limited. You need a lot more things to go right. You need those players to flourish for our trading model to work."
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Chelsea to raid Brighton again this summer?
In recent years, Chelsea have made a habit of forking out substantial fees to recruit players from Brighton, most notably the £115m to sign Moises Caicedo in 2023 and the £62m to lure Marc Cucurella from the Amex Stadium in 2022.
Chelsea's interest in Rutter comes at a time when the Blues have been tipped to prioritise the addition of a prolific centre-forward this summer.
However, Rutter is not primarily an out-an-out centre-forward and has not proven that he is a prolific goalscorer during his time in England, netting just five times in 28 Premier League games for Brighton so far this season.
Rutter's favoured position is operating in behind a central striker in a similar role to Chelsea star Cole Palmer, and it is difficult to envisage Brighton's No.14 replacing the latter in Enzo Maresca's side should he make the move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea could, however, view Rutter as someone who could at least provide healthy competition for Palmer, while he could also be regarded as a possible replacement for Joao Felix, who has been tipped to leave the club when his loan spell at AC Milan comes to an end.
Alternative attacking targets who Chelsea have been credited with an interest in include Ipswich Town's Liam Delap, Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko.
Oliver Thomas
