Having failed to earn promotion to the Premier League, Leeds United are reportedly set to pay the price with European giants lining up to sign one of Daniel Farke's best players.
Leeds transfer news
A second consecutive season in the Championship was always going to act as a major blow at Elland Road, but the Yorkshire club have not been helped by their need to sell players this summer in order to comply with profit and sustainability rules in the Championship. This has already seen the Championship's Player of the Season Crysencio Summerville linked with a move away and others could soon follow.
The Dutchman enjoyed an outstanding campaign last time out and is undoubtedly Premier League-ready. With reported interest from Liverpool and Newcastle United, Summerville may yet have the opportunity to complete his top-flight return by using an alternative route to the Wembley option that Leeds failed to take hold of.
The winger's exit would be a major blow, but he's reportedly not the only one potentially heading for the Elland Road exit door this summer. According to Graeme Bailey for HITC, RB Leipzig want to sign Archie Gray in a deal that could eventually rise to £50m this summer, but are joined in their interest by Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and other European giants.
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Of course, the advantage that Leipzig have is that Red Bull have just bought a minority stake in Leeds, meaning that they could now use their links to deal their new acquisition an instant blow in quite the twist. Gray became the youngest player in Leeds' history to appear at Wembley in the play-off final in the latest achievement on his path seemingly destined for greatness.
This claim emerged before news broke of Brentford reportedly agreeing terms with Gray, with the Bees now firmly in the driving seat with regard to his immediate future. Of course, this is still a blow to Leeds, not least as they are only set to receive £35m as opposed to £50m, while should his move to west London fall through, there will be a number of clubs in the queue to grab a player clearly available for sale.
"Crucial" Gray is destined for the top
At just 18 years old, Gray slotted into Farke's side out of position at right-back and barely missed a beat. a midfielder by trade, the Leeds academy graduate has more than earned the interest of Leipzig, Bayern and other top European sides this summer and Leeds could be left with no choice but to sanction a deal to comply with PSR rules.
In an ideal world, they'll keep hold of their star prospect, but if he does move on to such clubs, there may well be a sense of pride hidden somewhere beneath initial disappointment that one of their very own is onto great things.
Farke, of course, would be among those sharing that mixed feeling, having praised Gray in abundance last season. He told Leeds Live: "For Archie, it's definitely not a bad choice at times. We don't play him there just to develop him, it's more we've got the feeling for this game, we need a player there who is capable to handle the pace and the speed and the mobility of the opponent's wingers.
"Also to play a bit more like an inverted full-back, a bit more like a traditional midfield player, Archie would have been the right choice. Thank God he repaid my trust and played some really good games there. He was fantastic in the last home game, solid last away game and he was crucial, especially in the second half."