Leeds’ georginio rutter deal could help newcastle land £35m ace

As Mateusz Klich said his goodbyes to the Leeds United supporters following last week’s 2-2 Premier League draw with West Ham United at a sodden Elland Road, it felt like more than merely the departure of a long-serving player.

Slowly but surely, brick by brick, the house that Marcelo Bielsa built is being dismantled. Kalvin Phillips, Gianni Alioski, Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi – key cogs in Bielsa’s Championship-winning machine – have already rode off into the sunset.

Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling are no longer first-choice picks either. Adam Forshaw also appears to be on borrowed time. Klich’s impending switch to MLS outfit Dundee United, then, had a real ‘closing of a chapter’ sort of feeling. Another step closer to the end of a glorious era in Leeds’ otherwise tumultuous modern history.

Klich, like Forshaw, Ayling, Cooper and Alioski, slipped down the pecking order following the arrival of high-profile new recruits. And, with Leeds closing in on a potential club-record deal for Hoffenheim’s Georginio Rutter, it’s tempting to wonder if the same fate could befall another player who’s role in that eminent 2019/20 season will never be forgotten.