'People will always judge' - the surprising hobby of Chelsea's potential £70m next big-money signing

Chelsea have their sights set on returning to the Champions League this season. The Blues are embroiled in a battle to get into the top five at the moment. They are currently positioned in 6th place in the table after their 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town last time out.

Enzo Maresca was picked as their manager last summer to replace Mauricio Pochettino. Prior to his switch to Stamford Bridge, he caught the eye at Leicester City and guided the Foxes to the Championship title. He has the chance to further boost his squad with some more signings when the new transfer window opens.

Surprising hobby of Chelsea target

According to journalist Florian Plettenberg on X, Chelsea are ‘closely’ monitoring the progress of Brighton and Hove Albion attacker Georginio Rutter ahead of the summer. He has scored eight goals and picked up four assists so far this season. The player is sidelined with a foot injury though at this moment in time.

The 22-year-old, who is a former France youth international, has an interesting hobby outside of football. In an interview with French news outlet L’Équipe, he has recently revealed that he has a keen interest in horses and horse racing. He has two horses called Brightlee and Le Morbihan and said: “When I moved from Hoffenheim to England, I saw stables everywhere. That’s when I knew I wanted to own a horse.”

Rutter also enjoys music and fishing to help him switch off. He added: “At 18 or 19, I didn’t think I’d cope with it all (pressure of professional football). But since I’ve had horses, I feel calmer. Some people will always judge. But I live like I’m not a footballer. I live for what I love.”

The forward has adapted well to life at Brighton in this campaign. They snapped him up last year to bolster their ranks and he has become one of their most prized assets amid new links to Chelsea. He penned a deal running until 2029 with the Seagulls so they are under no pressure to sell him anytime soon and can wait for the right offer to come in for him if they were to consider letting him go.

Would Georginio Rutter suit Chelsea?

Chelsea could see Rutter as someone to add something different to their side. He would give them more competition and depth up top if they managed to land him. If he joined the Blues, he would battle it out with the likes of Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku for a place in their team.

He is still young and has the potential to get better in the future. The Plescop-born man is not the finished article just yet and is an unpredictable and unorthodox player. He uses that to his advantage though and has proved that he is a dangerous asset for Brighton and can cause real problems to defenders with his pace and power.

Rutter started out in his native France with Rennes as a youngster before moving to Germany when Hoffenheim came calling. He broke into their first-team and went on to find the net on 11 occasions in 64 outings. That earned him a transfer to England for the first time in 2022 to Leeds United.

He struggled to get to grips during his first few months with the Whites and they were relegated to the second tier. However, slipping into the Football League actually helped with his development. Leeds were patient with him and he was able to find his feet at the lower level.

Rutter bagged eight times last term as the Whites reached the play-off final. However, they were denied promotion after losing to Southampton at Wembley. Brighton were then able to swoop in and lure him down south from West Yorkshire and they could now face a battle to keep hold of him 12 months later with Chelsea now said to be eyeing him.