Chelsea’s interest in Archie Gray may have hit the headlines this week but Leeds United have two other clubs they need to worry about.
Speculation over a potential exit for Gray this summer has grown stronger and stronger in the last few days with the majority of Europe’s elite clubs now circling.
As mentioned, Chelsea became the latest club to express their interest in the 18-year-old and they should certainly be taken seriously in the race.
Under new manager Todd Boehly, they have made a habit of hoovering up some of world football’s top young talent and Gray may well be the next on their radar.
However, given Gray’s desire to play regularly and the plethora of players already in his position at Stamford Bridge, it feels unlikely his family would like to see him go there.
Journalist names two clubs Leeds should be worried about in Gray race
It is not just Chelsea of the Premier League’s elite who are taking a look, but Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur as well.
Gray would almost certainly find it difficult to get consistent game time at all of those clubs, regardless of how highly rated he already is.
Instead, speaking exclusively to LeedsUnited.News, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has shared the two clubs Leeds should actually be most worried about when it comes to keeping Gray.
He says both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are now showing ‘very strong’ interest in the midfielder, and are options that are ‘very appealing’ to him due to their track record with young players.
He said: “The interest is very strong from Dortmund and Bayern. The career path that you can go down that route is going to be very appealing to the player, more so than the English clubs looking.
“If he is available, they all want him and they have all known about him for a lot of years. Real and Barca know about him as well but Dortmund and Munich are the real two, if you are a Leeds fan, to worry about particularly. They both like him a lot.
“The overall deal with add-ons could be worth a lot of money, but you are talking £25m-£30m initially. But there would be lots of extras and add-ons and if he performs as Leeds think the talent he is.
“It is stemming from some financial constraints at Leeds, some worries there. Even the sale of Summerville might not be enough so there is genuinely something around Gray.”
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What is Gray’s stance on a move to Dortmund?
As mentioned, Gray and his family may well be put off by the prospect of moving to Stamford Bridge due to the risk of him not playing regularly.
However, he would have no such issues at Dortmund given the strategy over the last few years has been based on finding and playing the best young talent.
The best example of that is Jude Bellingham, who almost instantly became an important first team player after arriving in a similar situation to what Gray is currently in now – the Championship.
With that in mind, it has been claimed that those close to Gray believe it would be unwise to completely disregard the prospect of a move to Dortmund.
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