The transfer window has kicked into gear at Elland Road in the blink of an eye with Archie Gray set to join Tottenham Hotspur, and Joe Rodon coming the other way.
Gray, 18, has endured a chaotic couple of days that looks set to result in the England U21 star swapping Leeds for Tottenham and saving Leeds from a breach of Profit & Sustainability Rules this summer.
The “phenomenal” star looked like he would be staying after signing a long-term deal in January and indeed, wanted to remain at Leeds this summer. But The 49ers told him with regret, that he must leave.
Leeds needed one big sale before the July 1 deadline and with no offers made for the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, Illan Meslier or others, it will be Gray that makes way and heads to Spurs.
Aston Villa held talks with Leeds for player last week
It could have been very different for Gray. Every Leeds fan was in disbelief on Saturday afternoon when it emerged that Gray was on his way to Brentford for a medical, after Leeds gave him permission to travel.
Sunday morning threw up another twist with Leeds then rejecting a bid from The Bees. It saw Tottenham come into the picture, while there was still interest from Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa and West Ham.
Now, Gray is off to Spurs and in a separate deal, Joe Rodon returns to Leeds on a permanent basis worth £10m. But Graham Smyth says there was the possibility of Gray joining a third club in the last week.
Aston Villa have been very busy themselves over the last week
Having qualified for the Champions League, it seems inconceivable that Villa needed to sell themselves to meet the rules of PSR and Financial Fairplay. But they cashed in on Douglas Luiz to Italian giants Juventus.
However, Graham Smyth reported on the Yorkshire Evening Post’s website on Monday that actually, Villa were the first ones to hold talks for Gray before Brentford pushed ahead with a move for the midfielder.
Instead, Gray will now end up at Tottenham but there was a genuine possibility that Gray could have featured in next season’s Champions League with Unai Emery’s side before Brentford, and then Spurs.
