When Leeds United sold Archie Gray to Tottenham for £40million in the summer of 2024, few expected Leeds to be in a strong position to finish above the North London club in two years’ time.
The Whites are seven games away from the end of the Premier League season. And, one of the most stunning relegation stories could be unfolding.
While Leeds are certainly not anywhere near being out of the mire, Spurs are incredibly staring down the barrel after a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest last time out.
Former Leeds United gem Archie Gray a lone shining light in Spurs’ woeful season
There’s a striking issue for me, watching on at Spurs’ plight right now. It’s that there are alarming similarities to ours and Leicester City’s relegation in 22/23.
We had enough to stay up, so did Leicester. But, the players didn’t care, and the managerial decisions taken were bordering on nonsensical.
Igor Tudor’s inability to get ideas across is bad enough. But, players such as Cristian Romero strolling around the pitch makes for grim viewing. Archie Gray, though, has been a rare bright spot in the Spurs performances.
Their spirited display against Atletico Madrid was potentially the £40million midfielder’s best performance since swapping West Yorkshire for North London in 2024.
Online, Gray is coming in for huge praise from the Spurs fanbase. Despite only turning 20 this month, Gray has been lauded for the maturity and grit he’s shown. Now, he’s being given more opportunity to play in midfield.
Leeds United have no sell-on clause in Archie Gray’s Tottenham contract
The question is whether Gray will be at Spurs much longer. Of course, he didn’t leave his boyhood Leeds thinking he’d see United above Spurs within two years of his transfer.
Spurs’ spiral towards the drop means that any standout performers from the squad could be lined up by clubs higher up the food chain. It’s something we experienced when losing the England youngster in the first place.
Loose rumours suggest Manchester United could be interested in signing Gray this summer.
However, any transfer of Gray to clubs higher up would be immaterial to Leeds. The £40million exit in July 2024 came without Leeds agreeing a sell-on clause.
Having signed Gray’s contract in the January of that year, Leeds were unable to then negotiate a sell-on clause further down the line when Spurs came to the table.
Even if it were the case, Spurs being relegated would leave them unlikely to register significant profit above £40million, for Leeds to therefore benefit from a sell-on clause.
Most, if not all, sell-on clauses are based on the profit made above the original sum. So, Leeds would have needed Spurs to make more than £40million to gain anything in a sell-on clause, had we included one.
For example, Leeds sold Charlie Cresswell in the same window to Toulouse for £3.8million. Leeds are entitled to 15% of any profit made by the French club. No such clause is present for Gray, according to reports from the YEP at the time.