It’s been reported that Archie Gray has agreed to join Tottenham Hotspur and the clubs have shaken hands on a deal worth £40m. And it’s fair to say that the reaction of our fans on social media has been somewhat mixed.
When last season came to a close it was thought that Summerville was the most likely high profile player to move to the Premier League, especially when suggestions were made that Brighton might be interested in his services. And may of us would have preferred to lose hm than Gray, partly because the teenager hails from a legendary Leeds family, and partly because he could have commanded an even bigger fee in his twenties.
But we can only sell a player when there is a willing buyer, and Gray was the first to attract a definite offer, so the board opted to take the cash while they had the chance. Though this particular sale was always going to earn the 49ers a certain amount of flack on social media. "Yankee greedy ****ds” being just one of the comments.
"Don’t trust these yanks for **** now” was another, as was "Taking us all for mugs”. And others criticised Gray for accepting the move so soon after signing a contract that could have kept him at Leeds until 2028. Apparently "Contracts mean nothing these days”. But thankfully there are plenty of other fans who are rather better informed, who have been happy to set the record straight.
Archie never asked for the move, he was told by the board that we needed to sell him to balance the books. And the demands of FFP mean that losses have to be kept within certain limits, regardless of how much the owners of the club are willing to invest. But thankfully the Red Bull sponsorship is likely to mean that Gray is the only high profile sale we need to make, as Leeds Live reporter Beren Cross told football.london
"Paraag Marathe has already acknowledged sales will be needed in this transfer window to ensure the club complies with profitability and sustainability rules. Recent investment from Red Bull, understood to be the biggest sponsorship deal in EFL history, has markedly helped the situation. Marathe even said that deal could be the difference between selling or keeping a key player this summer”.
One sweetner is that Joe Rodon is coming the other way as a permanent signing for £10million, even though he was reported to have had the option of moving to newly promoted Ipswich. So either he was thinking of the long term and wanted to join the bigger club, or he just thought he was onto a good thing at Leeds after his successful loan spell last season.
It’s reported that his arrival is a separate deal to the Gray transfer rather than the two figures being netted off. This might be for FFP reasons, so we can count the full £40m for Gray as income in next season’s accounts, but can spread the cost of Rodon’s signing over several seasons.
But it might be because Rodon isn’t around to sign the paperwork, as he’s on holiday in Las Vegas. Hopefully he isn’t gambling away the wages he’ll earn on his new contract. Rodon’s return has of course further restricted the chances of Charlie Cresswell getting much first team football any time soon, yet tonight Adam Pope has reported that his proposed move to French side Toulouse has fallen through.
A fee of around £3.8million had been agreed between the clubs, but when Charlie flew to France to agree terms, he failed to do so. But the chances are he is simply holding out for a better deal, and he will be moving elsewhere before the new season starts, given his lack of game time last season and his fallout with Daniel Farke.
It’s also been reported that Jamie Shackleton is on his way to Sheffield United for £1.5m. He’s been a bit-part player at Leeds for a number of years now, and while has proved to be a useful squad member in a couple of positions, he is 24 now, so if he was ever going to become a regular starter for us it would have happened by now.
And one more departure for the time being is Sonny Perkins, who will spend the coming season on loan at Leyton Orient. His finest moment in a Leeds shirt was his 94th minute equaliser to keep us in the FA Cup at Cardiff the season before last, but as he’s 20 now, it’s looking less likely that he will make the breakthrough to become a first team regular, with Matteo Joseph ahead of him in the pecking order.
No doubt there is plenty of squad reshaping to come in the next two months, but hopefully Archie will be the last key player to depart, as the club endeavours to build a squad fit for a fresh promotion challenge.