Leeds United striker Harry Gray is dominating the talk currently, with Graham Smyth providing yet another update on the situation.
Of course, the Elland Road hierarchy will be desperate to retain Harry Gray for longer than his brother, Archie. The problem is that there is interest, particularly the persistent talk of Spurs being keen on Gray.
The current situation for Leeds United is that it’s said that Gray is happy at Leeds despite the Spurs links emerging, while Andy, Harry’s father, is content with the progress at Leeds so far as well.
Gray has caught the eye at U-21 level alongside Jonny Howson but he has recently turned 17, with no contract announcement in the last few weeks since his birthday.
Graham Smyth’s latest view of Harry Gray’s Leeds contract situation
The Leeds deal for Gray is supposedly imminent but nothing has yet materialised. It has left fans growing concerned about the situation for a player described by Graham Smyth as the ‘prized jewel’ of Leeds’ academy.
Smyth has provided a recent update on Gray. However another has since emerged from the journalist. Speaking via The Inside Elland Road podcast, he said: “So, I did a bit of digging this morning again inside and outside the club.
“And there was a little bit of, kind of, surprise at the amount of panic there was out there. I mean, the first thing I guess I would say — as the parent of a 17-year-old — is you cannot let your peace be disrupted by the social media activity of a teenager.”
He is referring to Gray’s blacked out Instagram profile picture, with Smyth adding: “You have to rise above that. But the club’s position was — it’s a case of when not if he signs a new deal. His camp’s position was, ‘we expect it to get done in the next couple of weeks’.”
“So, I think, a lot of people maybe thought, ‘oh this has to be done really on his birthday and it will be done for his birthday and announced shortly after’.
“There are myriad reasons why that might not be the case. The player himself and his camp might be wanting to listen to all the offers on the table before making a decision.
“Maybe his injury played a part in that. Maybe there simply was no rush on behalf of either parties and they just wanted to nail down the finer details, but it sounds like they’re progressing towards where we want them all to be really.
“So yeah, Leeds don’t seem to be worrying. His camp don’t seem to be given any cause for worry. And I don’t know what you think, but is there a better option for him in terms of getting the chance to be on a Premier League pitch?
“Is there a better option than than Leeds United?”
While it remains up in the air and with other sharks circling for some time now, Leeds fans will remain concerned. The likes of Spurs, Newcastle United, and Man City have all tracked Gray in recent seasons.
Daniel Farke’s view of Harry Gray
Daniel Farke has explained Gray’s situation as he sees it, recently stating: “Normally, we just speak about business once business is done, that’s one of my principles, and I will stick to it.
“Harry, first of all, is also with his hip flexor problems, out of team training at the moment, he needs a few more days, I expect him also to be back in the squad then.
“Of course, behind the scenes, we are also trying to build our squad for the future. We’re trying to do some business and trying to do positive negotiations also for us with players that attract us. And Harry, of course, is a young player.
“Yes, we see a lot in him. We have spoken about this. I expect also that there is some positive news in the future. Sometimes I don’t speak about any special player because I just speak about business once business is done.
“But, in general, it also makes sense, for example, if you extend a contract or announce the extension of a new contract, that you do this once the player is fit and available. So, for that, I expect also that it’s not too far away, that we will have some positive news, also with some players in our squad.”
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