Leeds United: Archie Gray may be set to follow Gareth Bale’s path amid Elland Road exit links
Leeds United and Daniel Farke are enjoying an excellent season in the Championship this term and have a genuine chance of making an immediate return to the Premier League.
The Whites have been phenomenal for the entirety of 2024, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter stealing the show week in and week out with excellent attacking performances that have torn apart Championship defences.
While Farke’s attacking talents have stolen the majority of the plaudits, one star that has also blown away pundits and supporters alike has been teenager gem Archie Gray who has enjoyed a superb debut season in first-team football.
The 17-year-old midfielder received plenty of praise for his performance at Stamford Bridge in the Whites’ FA Cup defeat to Chelsea, with Lee Dixon saying he shone against more than £200million worth of midfielders.
But Gray’s remarkable form has caught the eye of teams both in the Premier League and Europe and it could prove very hard for Leeds United to keep their academy graduate at Elland Road beyond the summer transfer window.
Will Archie Gray leave Leeds United and Elland Road in the summer transfer window?
Leeds’ versatile midfielder is the first player at Elland Road to start 30 league matches in a single season before his 18th birthday and one of only five players to ever manage such an achievement in the Championship [The Analyst, 1 March].
The four players to manage it before Gray were Ryan Sessegnon, now of Tottenham, Will Hughes, now of Crystal Palace and Jude Bellingham and Gareth Bale who have both donned the famous Real Madrid shirt.
That record not only shows just how impressive Gray has been for Farke’s side this season, but it also demonstrates that he is destined to reach the top of the footballing pyramid and play Champions League football, with or without Leeds.
Hopefully, Farke and those around him will be able to keep the 17-year-old at Elland Road for a while longer yet, but speculation around Gray’s future will continue for the foreseeable future.
In other Leeds United news, Ray Parlour and Alan Brazil have clashed live on talkSPORT over the Whites’ title hopes this season
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