Archie Gray will sign a six-year Tottenham contract when he completes his Leeds United exit, according to the Daily Mail.
Simon Jones reported for the paper’s website on 1 July that the teenager is “closing in” on a £30million transfer away from Elland Road, with Joe Rodon coming the opposite direction in a corresponding £10m deal.
Gray, 18, had previously travelled for a medical at Brentford over the weekend amid an “outcry” among Whites supporters that the club were prepared to sanction a £35m fee, but the move broke down over the structure of that money.
However, Spurs are reportedly the midfielder’s preference and after talks accelerated on Sunday he is set for a long-term deal in North London.
Brentford move breaks down to let Spurs in for Leeds United star
There will only be slightly more acceptance among the fanbase in losing Gray to a side the size of Tottenham and with the consolation of bringing back Rodon.
The homegrown star would likely have been at the top of most lists for which big name supporters would least like to see depart this summer, when some star departures were seen as inevitable after the play off final defeat to Southampton.
He may have only had one season as a senior player but Gray impressed enough under Daniel Farke last term, in midfield and at right-back, to make clear his talent, and that clearly didn’t go unnoticed in the Premier League.
He has the potential to improve further yet, and his family history with Leeds United makes him even more ‘one of our own’ for fans than most academy graduates.
On the plus side the Elland Road contract he signed in January means the club are getting a sizeable fee for him, plus the return of a key member of last term’s side in Rodon, even if the return isn’t perhaps as lucrative as might have been hoped.
But the fact that he will see out just six months of that deal before signing another long-term contract elsewhere is a blow whichever way it’s looked at.
