Archie Gray has left Leeds United from Tottenham Hotspur but he is not the only high-profile player that could have left Elland Road for the Premier League, with another £30m bid on the table.
Gray, 18, left Leeds with a deal confirmed on Tuesday to join Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham. It comes after nearing a move to Brentford on the weekend, only to have a change of heart regarding The Bees.
The teenager signed a six-year deal at Spurs which is believed to be worth £75,000 a week. In a separate deal, but one that allowed Leeds to make happen because of Gray, Joe Rodon has rejoined The Whites.
Rodon starred for Daniel Farke’s side last season and clocked up 50 appearances. He has rejected top-tier clubs to return to Elland Road for a fee of £10m, a quarter of the cash received for midfielder Gray.
But Gray might not have been the only Leeds player to end up in the Premier League this week:
Brighton see £30m bid rejected for ‘fantastic’ Leeds player
Described as “fantastic” by Farke, Georginio Rutter was another who enjoyed a stellar season. The club-record signing from Hoffenheim had a hand in 26 goals in his 51 games for Leeds, as a 10 or as a striker.
It comes after a tricky first six months at the club, in which Rutter joined while Leeds were fighting the drop. Signed by Jesse Marsch, he went on to play under four managers in the space of six months.
Dropping into The Championship, Rutter rediscovered his spark. But it has caught the eye of Brighton, with Leeds Live claiming that James Milner’s side tabled a £30m bid for him in the last 48 hours.
Leeds post cheeky picture of Rutter after Brighton reports
Of course, it has been rejected. Losing Gray is bad enough, but to lose two of the supporter’s favourite players in the space of a few hours would have been damning from the club’s hierarchy, The 49ers.
Rutter looks set to remain at Elland Road for the time being, especially given the money on offer was £5m short of the fee Leeds paid to get him in January 2023. Following the news, Leeds took to their X account.
The Whites shared a short video of Rutter from pre-season training which started this week, and simply said “Hi” with Rutter’s X tag. The timing perhaps a sign that Leeds are fully intent on keeping Rutter.
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