Leeds United are in serious danger of being relegated back down to the Championship in their third season in the Premier League following their promotion in 2019/20.

The Whites are 19th in the table and two points adrift of 17th-placed Everton with three matches left to play before the end of the campaign.

Sam Allardyce has been drafted in to keep the side up after Javi Gracia failed to have the desired impact at Elland Road and was beaten 2-1 by Manchester City in his first match.

The one-time England boss is an experienced campaigner in the Premier League and has worked with some terrific talents throughout his time in the game.

One player Allardyce had thrived with was French forward Nicolas Anelka, who scored 12 goals and provided five assists in 37 appearances under his management at Bolton.

The dynamic former Arsenal and Chelsea talisman used his pace and movement out of possession to generate chances for himself and the Leeds boss could use his success to unlock the full potential of Georginio Rutter at Elland Road.

How has Georginio Rutter performed for Leeds?

The Frenchman has failed to score or assist a single goal in 12 appearances for the Whites since making the move from Hoffenheim for a club-record £36m fee in January.

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There is no doubting that the attacker has struggled over the last four months or so but Allardyce's arrival provides a clean slate and he could absorb the boss' knowledge and attempt to replicate the form that his compatriot, Anelka, showed in order to keep the club in the Premier League.

LeedsLive journalist William Jackson gave the £76k-per-week forward a score of 8/10 for his "dangerous" performance and noted that the manager was in attendance to watch the attacker's impressive display in his player ratings piece as the ace played for the U21s on Monday, which is a positive step in the right direction.

Rutter is a marksman who has similar attributes to Anelka during his time at Bolton - scout Jacek Kulig once hailed the French gem's off-ball movement and lauded his "blistering" pace and "clinical" finishing, which suggests that the 21-year-old has the qualities to use his pace to run off the back of opposition defenders to create chances for himself.

His 11 goals and four assists in 26 Bundesliga starts for Hoffenheim also show that the youngster has the quality to provide a relatively consistent end product in a major European league and that his form for Leeds may be a confidence issue, or the previous managers not utilising his talent in the right way.

Allardyce has proven, with Anelka, that he can get the best out of a number nine who runs in behind and looks to cause problems for defenders on the shoulder and could unearth his new star by unleashing Rutter in the last few matches.