Archie Gray’s move to Tottenham Hotspur is unlikely to bring an end to the exits at Leeds United this summer.
Despite the exits of Ian Poveda, Luke Ayling, Lewis Bate, Jack Harrison and Marc Roca, Gray became the first real high profile departure at Elland Road given none of that quintet were in Leeds‘ plans anyway.
His £40 million transfer has significantly eased Leeds’ Profit and Sustainability concerns, but it does not mean there won’t be anyone else heading for the exit door.
Captain Liam Cooper looks as though he will be leaving on a free, with Jamie Shackleton and Cody Drameh both expected to follow him.
Other big names such as Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, Georginio Rutter, Glen Kamara and Illan Meslier have all attracted interest recently, too.
Journalist shares update on Diego Llorente’s Leeds future
Gray’s sale now means Leeds view themselves to be in a strong position at the negotiating table when it comes to some of their other stars.
It is said Leeds will now only listen to offers for the likes of Summerville and Gnonto if they make it clear that a departure is what they want.
However, Leeds are unlikely to show such resistance to keeping Diego Llorente despite the fact they rejected an offer from Real Betis on Wednesday.
Llorente’s no show at day one of pre-season is pretty telling that both parties see his future as elsewhere, but Leeds are not just going to give him away on the cheap.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road Podcast, Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Joe Donnohue says it remains a ‘foregone conclusion’ Llorente will leave even after Betis’ first offer was knocked back.
He said: “Llorente is pretty much a foregone conclusion. He will be going somewhere, whether that’s Real Betis if they decide to up their offer, or somewhere else.
“It doesn’t seem as though his future lies at Leeds which is interesting because I thought the price of central defenders were supposed to be on the rise prior to the 2022 World Cup.”
How much do Leeds want for Llorente?
Leeds spent around £18 million to bring him in from Real Sociedad four years ago and so they will be eager to squeeze every last penny out of this sale.
It has been suggested that Betis’ first offer for Llorente was around the £3.8 million mark, a similar price to that they paid for Marc Roca.
Leeds do not want to lose another player for such a low price even if they were ‘content’ with the figure received for the Spanish midfielder.
Instead, it would appear Leeds are looking for closer to £5 million to sell Llorente, and hopefully it is not too long before the two clubs reach an agreement.
