Angus Kinnear has spoken about some of the behind-the-scenes details that led Archie Gray to leave Leeds United for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
Following Leeds’ failure to gain promotion, Gray was the first of the three major sellers at Elland Road and was seen as vital to P&S’s pursuit of the time.
His move was completed shortly after the end of the financial year on June 30, and once he comes through the academy, it will represent a net gain in Leeds’ accounts.
In Leeds’ official statement announcing Gray’s departure, it was suggested that this would help retain some of their other key players, which according to Kinnear has happened to some extent.
Leeds are said to have rejected big bids for Wilfried Gnont, but it’s hard to see it that way, with Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter also gone.
Kinnear on what he said to Gray just before Leeds left
Kinnear appeared on the annual Square Ball Podcast where he revealed he was with Gray and his father in North London on the day the deal was struck.
Given his family legacy at the club and the fact that he only spent a year in the first team after progressing through the academy, Leeds fans were absolutely outraged when the news of Gray’s exit first broke.
There have been some murmurs on social media that Leeds’ handling of the situation has damaged his family’s relationship with the club and could therefore lead to his brother Harry’s departure, although these rumors have been denied.
And now Kinnear has detailed how Gray’s final days at Leeds unfolded, even sharing how both he and Paraag Marathe late on urged the 18-year-old to return to Thorp Arch if he had any doubts.
He said: “Leeds United have not approached any other club to sell Archie Gray over the entire window. Normally when you try to sell a player you offer him and speak to the agent and tell him we want the player to leave.
“We could have kept Archie Gray but when you understand – and I spent the day at Tottenham Hotspur training with Daniel Levy, Archie and his dad to seal the deal. It’s a completely life-changing deal and let me tell you clearly, Archie and his dad pulled it off flawlessly the situation.
“They will always be great friends of the club, what more couldn’t they have done given the way they went about it. But the opportunity to play in the Premier League and in Europe, for one of the six biggest clubs in the country, on multiples of the money I would ever earned at Leeds, you can’t fault the player for that.
“We talked to him the last day, Paraag and I, we said to him, ‘Archie, if it doesn’t feel right, just come back and train, give us another year. But I don’t blame him for the decision in any way, it’s just the reality gaps to the Premier League and Championship.”
Tottenham are plotting a move for Archie’s brother Harry Gray
While Archie may be the best talent at the academy since James Milner, there are speculations that his younger brother Harry is even better.
It actually came from Archie himself. At just 15, Harry was heavily involved in Leeds’ senior team in pre-season, although injury stunted his development.
Unfortunately, Leeds could now face a battle to keep hold of Gray, with Tottenham Hotspur and several of the Premier League’s top clubs keen.