Archie Gray – CaughtOffside

Robbie Fowler claims Leeds are ‘paying price’ for brutal transfer mistake

Andrew Walker — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 11:48:15 +0000

Robbie Fowler believes Leeds United are suffering the consequences of last season’s failed promotion bid.

Losing the Championship play-off final against Southampton, Leeds United saw Leicester City, Ipswich Town and the Saints all return to the Premier League. The Yorkshire giants will have to try again this season.

And suffering several key exits, including losing Archie Gray, who joined Spurs in a deal worth £40 million last month, Daniel Farke has been forced to rethink his starting 11.

Leeds United have confirmed Archie Gray’s transfer to Spurs.

Luke Ayling, Cody Drameh, Rasmus Kristensen, Jamie Shackleton and Connor Roberts have already left but the club have confirmed the signing of Jayden Bogle from Sheffield United.

Leeds United in disarray as three big names set to leave Elland Road

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 06:33:54 +0000

It looks like it’s going to be quite the summer for Daniel Farke and Leeds United.

This time last year, the German was having to contend with the ambitions of new owners, 49ers Enterprises, alongside those players who didn’t see their immediate future at Elland Road.

That meant that Farke didn’t really have a settled side until mid-September, and yet he still came within a whisker of guiding them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Summerville, Gnonto and Rutter all set to leave Leeds

That he didn’t has already been brought into sharp focus with forced sale of Archie Gray to Tottenham Hotspur.

With a family history at the club, it would surely been with a heavy heart that the club had to accept that their player would need to be sold.

If that wasn’t bad enough for Leeds fans to digest, it looks like there could be worse to follow.

Leeds United are preparing to lose all three of Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Wilfried Gnonto.

According to Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the trio of Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Willy Gnonto are also all likely to follow Gray out of the exit door if acceptable bids are tabled for each of the trio.

Losing just one would be bad enough but if all three jump ship, that would severely weaken the Yorkshire club’s attempts to get promoted at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Such is the fall-out from still being marooned in the English second-tier.

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The outlet quote sources as saying the players believe that they have something to offer at the top level, rather than spending another season in the English Championship.

If Farke and his superiors are forced to accept that they’re powerless to keep the players, the best the club can hope for is that they maximise any transfer fee for each, allowing them to strengthen and give Leeds the best chance of promotion on this occasion.

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Exclusive: Archie Gray is the right player at the right time for Tottenham says Collymore

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:10:34 +0000

When Tottenham Hotspur announced that they’d signed Archie Gray from Leeds United, it was something of a surprise.

One of Elland Road’s proudest sons despite his young age, Gray comes from a long line of family men to have played for the all whites.

Their inability to get back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking is ultimately what has ensured that Gray, a player sure to have a brilliant future in the game, was moved on.

Financial Fair Play is crippling a lot of clubs who are having to get by, by selling their best players.

Archie Gray has got Stan Collymore excited

Leeds’ pain is Spurs’ evident gain, with former professional and CaughtOffside columnist, Stan Collymore, believing it’s a brilliant move for the North London outfit.

“Archie Gray is already nearing a half century of performances at just 18, so he will know what he’s about as a player. He’s a big lad as well, six foot two, and he’s only going to get bigger, stronger and more versatile in the next two or three years,” he said for his exclusive column.

“He can play as a centre mid or as a right-back and he’s got pedigree after turning out for England in the U15, U16, U17, U19, U20 and U21 age groups.

Archie Gray in action for previous club Leeds United

“I think he will go on potentially and play for England, though he’s eligible for Scotland as well.

“I imagine that whoever the next England manager is, he will be watching over the next season or two at Spurs, but they may well call him up for the England senior squad sooner rather than later.

“Personally, I think it’s a great move. I’m a massive fan of Tottenham, the way that their Academy has done things etc…

“The facilities are arguably the best in the world at Spurs Lodge, they don’t necessarily just promote ex-players as coaches in the academy and they’ve got Ange Postecoglou, who’s a very minded open manager.

“Archie Gray and his family are all Celtic fans and love Ange, so I’m really excited. I think it’s the right player, the right move, the right club at the right time and I think that he will get opportunities to play.

“The world’s his oyster.”

The 18-year-old will surely understand the pressures that will come with playing for such a high-profile outfit, and despite being a big name at Leeds, he will have to prove himself all over again at Tottenham.

If he does just that, however, Spurs will have landed themselves a bargain.

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Collymore’s column: Bellingham right to be cocky, tiredness wrecking the Euros, Archie Gray’s great move and more

Stan Collymore — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 11:44:27 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including why Jude Bellingham is right to be cocky, why tiredness is wrecking the Euros, why Archie Gray to Spurs is a great move and much more.

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Jude Bellingham is right to be cocky but it’s not all about him

Jude Bellingham’s still a baby and people will say he’s done very little in his career. He’s not, as the kids say, ‘the man’ yet.

But if you’re La Liga Player of the Year, you’ve won the Champions League and you’ve been a key part of that then, of course, you’re going to have cockiness and sureness in your own ability.

He’s not got a final body of work, but I love the attitude he displays. I think one of the big, big things about English football, when it comes to English players, is we’ve never celebrated players with talent until long after they’ve retired.

In Jude’s case, I think that it is both true that I want him to be cocky and confident and to have ultimate self belief, but I also want him to be a fully functioning member and part of the team. To remember that his success cannot come without the success of others.

Jude Bellingham

There’s been a couple of times when he’s gone over to Gareth Southgate and taken instructions then gesticulated a little bit, but again, I think that he’s young and still learning. He probably watches, or has watched, lots of big name players take centre stage, not just with their performances but how they interact with the bench.

The media are saying how good he’s been since 16 years of age, so he’s probably thinking ‘how can I now play the part on and off the pitch?’

If he gets punished because of his crotch-grabbing antics it would be incredibly negative, and the reaction to him would be interesting. Let’s not forget Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have had the naughty little boy tabloid treatment, so he needs to be careful.

Maybe Kyle Walker or another senior pro just pulls him aside and says ‘I’ve worked with these big, big dogs. I’ve won everything there is to win with these big dogs. And in the case of a De Bruyne, you couldn’t get a more self deprecating, it’s not all about me kind of player.’

If Jude was reading this, all I’d say is keep being cocky, keep being confident, but remember that no player can get to where they need to be without the likes of Phil Foden, Kieran Trippier, Jordan Pickford etc.

You are just one piece of a cog, you’re not the cog on its own.

Too many games to blame for England’s woes, not Southgate

If you look at the teams that are starting to get to the pointy end of the Euros, tiredness has become a major factor. I saw France and Holland coming out at half-time of their games recently and they looked wasted. Everyone was like ‘here we go again.’

This is going to be a major problem and will be at the World Cup in only two years time.

When is the madness going to end, whereby we celebrate nations like Georgia and Turkey rightly for the freshness in their performances, but we castigate players like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, or maybe some of the Dutch guys for their performances.

The answer is the same and is very simple.

Some of the guys that have looked incredibly fresh, lively and on their toes whilst playing a super brand of football have been precisely that because the intensity, on and off the pitch, isn’t there for a lot of Georgian, Turkish and Austrian players.

Harry Kane is tired

For England players, French players, for some of the Germans and some of the Dutch etc. it is, so we’ve got to address it.

Whether it be Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe or other high profile stars, we want to be seeing our very, very best players playing their very, very best football at the end of a tournament, not in September, October for their clubs.

We’ve got to stop flogging dead horses.

If you play in the Premier League and La Liga, and to a lesser degree, the Bundesliga, Ligue Un and Serie A, the intensity of the media interest as well as the intensity of the games means that you are just spent.

I’m a massive fan of players only playing 50 professional games a season. That’s it, across all tournaments. That would focus minds, but I think that in the short term, a player that gets knocked out at the Euros this coming weekend does not go back to their club team for six full weeks.

Georgia and Turkey are the shining stars of Euro 2024

For me, the teams that have impressed me the most have been Georgia and Turkey.

Georgia came into this tournament like ‘this is it, this is as good as it gets,’ and they’ve just gone for it. Turkey is a different animal because of the Turkish media.

You know it’s a big football in nation but they’ve always underachieved, just as England have underachieved.

When I look at the talent that they’ve got… Demiral, Ayhan, Guler, Kokcu, Yildiz and Yilmaz – they have been superb. Getting the ball, turning with it, running with it, creating chances, sitting on the counter.

Austria were very good overall and might have qualified on another day with a little bit more look. It was nice to see Marko Arnautovic back in the big time too.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates

If I’m looking at other nations that you’re expecting to be there or thereabouts, you can’t really look much beyond Spain. Obviously the young lads, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are exceeding all expectations.

The squad have stuck with the remit of the 2010/2012 Spanish team but with a bit more flair. A big shout out for Rodri too. When you look at players in the big leagues that are mentally and physically fatigued, this guy is managing his minutes extraordinarily well. He seems to play at 70% pace all the time, so you’ve never really seen him making long, bursting runs and his timing is great. He’s a very big man. He’s a very big, physically impressive athlete. And obviously he weighed in with a cracking goal against against Georgia.

Ah yes, Georgia. Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia and their team-mates playing with so much joy, with so much happiness… unless someone wins the Euros by scoring a hat-trick in the final or something amazing, I think that a lot of people will be nodding in agreement that the attacking play of the Georgians at their very best has been great to watch.

It’s a festival, a celebration at the end of a European season, or at the end of a global season, where all of these amazing countries come together and entertain us in the sunshine.

So for me, Georgia have been the team to watch at this season’s tournament.

Archie Gray is the right player at the right time for Tottenham

Archie Gray

Archie Gray is already nearing a half century of performances at just 18, so he will know what he’s about as a player. He’s a big lad as well, six foot two, and he’s only going to get bigger, stronger and more versatile in the next two or three years.

He can play as a centre mid or as a right-back and he’s got pedigree after turning out for England in the U15, U16, U17, U19, U20 and U21 age groups.

I think he will go on potentially and play for England, though he’s eligible for Scotland as well.

I imagine that whoever the next England manager is, he will be watching over the next season or two at Spurs, but they may well call him up for the England senior squad sooner rather than later.

Personally, I think it’s a great move. I’m a massive fan of Tottenham, the way that their Academy has done things etc…

The facilities are arguably the best in the world at Spurs Lodge, they don’t necessarily just promote ex-players as coaches in the academy and they’ve got Ange Postecoglou, who’s a very minded open manager.

Archie Gray and his family are all Celtic fans and love Ange, so I’m really excited. I think it’s the right player, the right move, the right club at the right time and I think that he will get opportunities to play.

The world’s his oyster.

The post Collymore’s column: Bellingham right to be cocky, tiredness wrecking the Euros, Archie Gray’s great move and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

PSG circling for electric Leeds ace as Farke’s squad continues to crumble

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 05:09:22 +0000

Daniel Farke and Leeds United owners, 49ers Enterprises, must be rueing their Championship Play-Off final loss to Southampton.

It’s not only the prestige of playing in the English top-flight that has been lost out on, but the associated uplift in terms of finance.

Money that would not only pay for the likes of Archie Gray to stay at the club, but to supplement such talent with other players of a similar ilk.

PSG want Leeds ace Crysencio Summerville

As it’s turned out, a player that was expected to become one of Leeds’ most famous sons, following in the footsteps of various members of his family, has now been sold to Tottenham Hotspur in order for the all whites to keep the wolf from the door in terms of Financial Fair Play.

If losing Gray wasn’t bad enough for Farke, he’s now got to consider the possibility of losing arguably his best player in 2023/24.

Crysencio Summerville is on PSG’s radar

Crysencio Summerville plundered an excellent 21 goals and provided nine assists according to WhoScored, and it’s that kind of form that has apparently piqued the interest of French giants, Paris Saint-Germain.

The Ligue Un side are in pole position to sign the youngster despite Chelsea and Liverpool both having made enquiries about Summerville’s availability according to De Telegraaf.

Brighton and Hove Albion have also talked with the player, but De Telegraaf allege that the Seagulls have been put off by the player’s contract demands.

It remains to be seen at what price Leeds would be willing to sell, though it isn’t likely to be cheap given just how important the player was to them over the past season.

That is a decent bargaining chip for the Elland Road outfit to have before seeing what PSG intend to put on the table as their opening gambit.

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Darren Bent expresses concern over new Tottenham signing Archie Gray

CJ — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 18:29:26 +0000

Darren Bent is worried Archie Gray may have made the wrong choice for his development in joining Tottenham Hotspur.

The 18-year-old — who can play as a right-back or in central midfield — signed for the north London club in a big-money move on Tuesday after breaking through at Elland Road in 2023/24, making 52 appearances across all competitions.

Gray is already capped 24 times for England across various youth levels and is seen as one of the nation’s most promising prospects right now.

“It’s obviously a massive club and an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down,” Gray told the Tottenham Hotspur official website upon signing.

“I’m just really excited to play and get started with the team. It still hasn’t sunk in to be honest, I don’t think it will for the next few days. Maybe until we’ve played a few games, until I’ve got to meet everyone, it won’t have sunk in. I’m really excited and looking forward to it. It’s a massive opportunity for me and so I’m really excited.”

Darren Bent voices concerns about Gray move

Despite his huge potential, former Spurs striker Bent believes Gray might have made a mistake in joining Tottenham.

The ex-England international suggested there may have been better destinations for the teenager to continue his development, seeing more time on the pitch and dealing with less pressure from supporters.

“He is versatile. Full-back, in central midfield, passes the ball, gets on the ball, comfortable in possession,” the former Aston Villa and Sunderland striker told talkSPORT (via Leeds Live). “Going into a dressing room like Tottenham where they are pushing for top four, it’s different expectations.

“If he goes to Brentford, he maybe can settle in for a year and then obviously really kick on next year. I know he is ready to go now, but 18 years old – that’s still really young.

“Working with a coach like Ange Postecoglou, it is about potential and it is about maybe the years to come. But if he had gone to Brentford, I think he would have got in straightaway and probably played.”

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Video: Leeds could lose another player to Tottenham after Archie Gray

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 12:59:17 +0000

It seems that Tottenham are not done with their shopping at Elland Road this summer.

Not content with landing arguably one of Leeds’ best players in Archie Gray, there’s a possibility that they’ll keep their eye on his brother, Harry, too.

“There is also his younger brother Harry Gray who is supposed to be very exciting as well. Don’t worry Leeds fans I’m not saying it’s a double deal, but he’s a 15-year-old, a striker, scores loads of goals and Archie Gray has said he’s a better player than him,” Tottenham insider, Alastair Gold, noted on his YouTube channel.

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“I’m sure Spurs in the back of their minds are thinking ‘do we grab him from their academy at some point.’ Because it’s so easy to take academy players these days. One to keep an eye on as well, there’s another Gray family member there who will hopefully score lots of goals in the future.”

All the while that Leeds remain in the Championship, they’re fair game for any clubs that might be interested in acquiring their best players.

Pictures from Alastair Gold

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‘Heartbroken’ Leeds United confirm Archie Gray transfer to Spurs

Andrew Walker — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:13:13 +0000

Leeds United have confirmed Archie Gray’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Championship outfit agreed a deal worth a reported £30 million (Sky Sports) for Gray, 18, to move to Ange Postecoglou’s Lilywhites.

The 18-year-old will now embark on a new challenge in the Premier League but that isn’t without sadness on Leeds’ part.

Confirming their agreement on X (formerly Twitter), Leeds United’s official account said: “Heartbroken to see one of our own depart, Archie Gray leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Leeds United, as he joins Tottenham.”

Leeds United have confirmed Archie Gray’s transfer to Spurs.

During his breakout campaign last season, Gray, who is best known for his versatile playing style, featured in 52 games, in all competitions, including 44 out of 46 league games.

Leeds United transfer news: Whites confirm one in, one out

It isn’t all bad news for the Yorkshire club though — despite losing arguably their most exciting prospect, fans can welcome defender Joe Rodon as a new signing.

Ange Postecoglou can celebrate after incredible young talent signs Tottenham contract

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 06:51:37 +0000

The way in which Tottenham Hotspur ended the 2023/24 season would arguably have been a huge disappointment for manager, Ange Postecoglou, and the club’s board.

A brilliant start to the campaign allayed any fears that the Australian wouldn’t be able to cope in one of European football’s top five leagues.

His straight talking, no-nonsense approach in interviews also quickly won him legions of admirers.

Tottenham sign Archie Gray from Leeds

Unfortunately, injuries to key players stopped Spurs’ resurgence in its tracks and, ultimately, contributed to a late-season collapse which saw Aston Villa pip them to the post in terms of finishing in the Champions League spots.

More improvements are therefore required, and the North Londoners haven’t been slack in getting their transfer business done.

??? Joe Rodon has signed his contract as new Leeds United player, same for Archie Gray at Tottenham.

Formal steps to follow as Rodon joins Leeds for £10m and Archie Gray will be new Spurs gem for £40m. pic.twitter.com/DzLHm0Z8mT

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 2, 2024

According to CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, Leeds United ace, Archie Gray, has already signed his contact with the Lilywhites, Joe Rodon joining the Yorkshire-based side on a permanent deal as part of the move.

Just 18 years of age, Gray has long been a standout performer at Leeds, and Daniel Farke will surely be rueing the fact that the club didn’t go up through the play offs.

That inability to bring their A game towards the end of the 2023/24 season has condemned Leeds to not only another campaign in the Championship, but also to the loss of some of their best players in order to align with Financial Fair Play.

That in itself is going to make life incredibly difficult for the all whites in 2024/25, and could even make Farke’s job nigh-on impossible.

The German could point to previous promotion campaigns as a good indicator of just how well he can marshal a group of lads, however, it’s doubtful that he was hamstrung to such an extent as he likely will be over the next few months.

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Fabrizio Romano congratulates Tottenham on signing “one of the best talents” in the country

Mark Brus — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 16:33:22 +0000

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has congratulated Tottenham for the signing of Leeds United wonderkid Archie Gray as the deal now looks to be all but done.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside via the Debrief podcast, Romano provided some latest details on Spurs’ swoop for Gray, also explaining that Borussia Dortmund and Brentford were interested in the 18-year-old.

Gray looks a superb talent, with Romano even claiming he’s one of the best young prospects in England at the moment as he congratulated Tottenham on the deal.

Romano also explained that Spurs defender Joe Rodon will be moving to Leeds as part of the deal, and it’s now just about waiting for the official statements from clubs.

Gray transfer info from Fabrizio Romano

“First of all, congratulations to Tottenham because they signed one of the best talents around in England,” Romano said.

Archie Gray is set to join Tottenham

“And it was not an easy deal because Bradford were close to signing Archie Gray over the weekend. The deal was almost done, even with a medical ready for the player. But then between clubs, there were some issues also on the structure of the deal, the structure of the payment. And so Tottenham had enough time to enter into conversations with the player to enter into conversations with Brentford and to close the deal for Archie Gray.

“So the deal is going to be worth something around £40million and as part of the deal there will be also Joe Rodon going the other way, so the total value of the deal is going to be around £30million pounds plus Joe Rodon with value around £10m.