Archie Gray’s £40m move from Leeds to Brentford has collapsed at the 11th hour after the two clubs failed to agree a payment structure, leaving Tottenham as new favourites for the 18-year-old’s signature.
Gray arrived in west London on Saturday and was poised to undergo a medical at Brentford on Sunday after agreeing personal terms but has now returned to Yorkshire. While that represents good news for Leeds supporters, it seems almost certainly to be a temporary state of affairs as Spurs are understood to have now made their interest in Gray clear.
Although Leeds manager do not want to lose the precociously gifted midfielder or right-back, the club needs to raise funds in order to comply with profitability and sustainability rules. This dictated that Brentford’s offer of an initial £35m transfer, potentially rising to £40m, was taken so seriously by the Leeds board.
Gray, the great nephew of the former Leeds player and manager Eddie Gray, does not turn 19 until March and made 52 appearances in all competitions last season as Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion to the top tier, losing last month’s Championship playoff final to Southampton. Gray been extensively scouted by a number of clubs across Europe, including with Chelsea believed to also be interested in him.
After joining Leeds’s academy at the age of eight, Gray has represented England junior teams at every age group level up to and including Under-21s, while also winning the 2023-24 Championship young player of the season award.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have moved to avoid the possibility of a points deduction by agreeing to sell their 21-year-old homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest in a deal potentially rising to £35m. After selling their 19-year-old Gambia winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton for £33m on Saturday, Newcastle, who could also sell the former England striker Callum Wilson to a Saudi Arabian pro-League club, have ensured they within the Premier League’s financial fair play regulations.
Newcastle negotiated to take Forest’s reserve goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos to St James’ Park as a makeweight in the deal for Anderson. The 30-year-old Greece international’s impending arrival suggests Martin Dubravka will leave. Vlachodimos is Greece’s first-choice keeper and has been capped 42 times. He made nine appearances for Forest last season, conceding 19 goals.
Anderson, a former Newcastle youth captain, did not want to leave his boyhood club but it is believed he has been offered a near 50% increase in wages at the City Ground. Despite some reluctance to part with a gifted and versatile midfielder, Anderson’s impending departure almost certainly ensures the club can retain their much-coveted leading players this summer, namely Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimarães and Anthony Gordon.
Gordon is wanted by Liverpool but the possibility of the England winger returning to his native Merseyside now appears remote.
