Paraag Marathe shares Archie Gray transfer update at Leeds United
Paraag Marathe refused to be drawn on speculation surrounding a move away from Elland Road for Leeds United youngster Archie Gray.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Radio Leeds, Marathe said that it was far too early in the off-season to say whether Gray would still be at Elland Road come the start of the Championship campaign.
The 18-year-old’s performances this season won him the Championship’s Young Player of the Year award for 2023/24, but the Whites’ failure to achieve promotion means rival clubs are now circling.
Marathe said: “There are certain things we need to do to ensure we are fully compliant with profit and sustainability, and there are certain trade-offs we have to make.”
“It’s too early to say. Obviously, Archie is a tremendous player who put in so much effort for us. But with every season brings change and so I can’t comment on it yet, so we’ll see what happens.”
Leeds must pull out all the stops to keep Archie Gray
From a profit and sustainability perspective, selling Gray for a hefty fee makes complete sense for Leeds United.
As a home-grown academy player, the sale of Gray for any price would represent 100 per cent profit on the club’s books, given the Whites brought him right through the system without paying a transfer fee.
Other players like Charlie Cresswell represent a similar situation despite being older than Gray, but unlike the centre-back, 18-year-old Gray has been almost ever-present for Daniel Farke’s side.
That’s a side which collected 90 points (a joint record to achieve without winning automatic promotion), Gray making 44 appearances, 40 of which were starts, and proving equally adept at either right-back or in central midfield.
Clubs across England and Germany have already sounded out Gray’s exceptional talents and will undoubtedly be preparing bids to lure the 18-year-old away from Elland Road.
But as with the retention of Kalvin Phillips before promotion in 2020, the club must prove to Gray that they have serious ambitions of building their future around him and tie the 18-year-old down to a long-term deal, wading off the competition.
Failure to be promoted in a year will be a different story, but with his younger brother also coming through the academy and the 49ers ownership group indicating they’re invested for the long haul, it would be unwise of Leeds to let Gray go this summer.
In other Leeds United news, an update has emerged over Kalvin Phillips’ future after the Whites playoff defeat to Southampton
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