Joe Daniher (Brisbane),Adam Saad (Carlton) and Orazio Fantasia (Port Adelaide) all found new homes in the trade period and the Bombers have used their departures to go into Wednesday’s draft armed with three top-10 picks.
But Rutten doesn’t believe that bringing in more youth is a sign the team will struggle to get better in 2021.
“We’re pushing to improve and get our way up the ladder as quickly as we can,” Rutten told reporters on Monday.
“We’re probably no different to any other team that didn’t make the finals last season,we understand we’re not where we need to be. But certainly bringing in three more eager,enthusiastic,talented young men is going to bring some energy and we’ll certainly be willing to push them and not going to put any limits on what they can achieve next year.
“[The players who left] have been really good servants of the footy club and we certainly wish them all the best,but I think there’s some real optimism and anticipation about what we can do moving forward,” he said.
“We’re really driving to improve and grow as a footy club,but individually as well all the players have a real appetite to get better.”