Manchester City are one of the sides rivalling Liverpool for the signing of Leeds United youngster Archie Gray.
Reports emerged last week that Liverpool are preparing a summer bid to lure Gray from Elland Road to Anfield. The Daily Mail put the 17-year-old’s value as high as £50m.
Although that would sound steep, 90min now claim that there are several top sides all clamouring to get ahead in the race to sign Gray.
As well as Liverpool and City, Newcastle United are said to be ‘keeping tabs’ on the midfielder. Meanwhile Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are also claimed to have scouted Gray.
Furthermore, interest comes from the continent with Borussia Dortmund reportedly making regular trips to West Yorkshire to watch the teenager in action.
All of this paints a picture of a young man in high demand. Should Leeds want to it, it seems they’d be able to cash in on Gray fairly easily. However, it’s claimed that selling their academy graduate is not in the Peacock’s plans. Leeds are reportedly ‘not willing’ to sell Gray, despite the ‘rising interest.’
Race heats up for Gray
If Leeds have the best interests of Gray at heart, then they should be wary of doing business with Man City. Just look at how things went for the last midfield academy starlet they sent to the Etihad. Kalvin Phillips hasn’t been the same since.
Luckily, it seems hopeful that Gray will avoid that kind of fate. Former Leeds player Aidy White spoke this week about how the youngster’s family are dealing with the transfer rumours.
It seems that coming from a footballing family, Gray has good people around him and a good head on his shoulders.
If that is the case, then it shouldn’t be too difficult to say no to City. There is a pathway there for young players at times, Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer are good examples of that. But by and large, there’s no way into Pep Guardiola’s first-team.
That isn’t the case at Liverpool, where Jurgen Klopp often gives licence to young players. Just take this Sunday’s game for example. 19-year-old James McConnell made his Premier League debut, with 16-year-old Trey Nyoni on the bench,.
If Gray came into Anfield and proved he had the talent to mix it with the big boys, he’d get his shot. Given that he’s been called ‘outstanding’ by BBC Radio Leeds pundit Leigh Bromby this season, you’d back him to do that.
In any case, perhaps the main competition here shouldn’t be from City, but from Dortmund. Another young English midfielder with a clear career path took the decision to move from the Championship to the Black and Yellows and never looked back. Who wouldn’t want to follow in the steps of Jude Bellingham?
For now, it seems unlikely that Liverpool, City, Dortmund or anyone else will move for Gray until next summer. But in the meantime, we should keep tabs on how the young man is getting on at Leeds.
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