Leeds Live

Leeds United have completed the signing of Manor Solomon on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The forward will follow Largie Ramazani through the entrance door as the Whites aim to rejuvenate their front line following the departures of Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville, with the Spurs man becoming leeds' sixth summer capture.

Mateo Joseph, Dan James and Willy Gnonto impressed on Leeds' Friday night trip down the M1 to Hillsborough for the Yorkshire Derby, but the loss of the aforementioned key wide men to the heights of the Premier League, along with the ongoing injury woes of Patrick Bamford, have urged the Whites to act on a double deal to reinforce the attack.

Solomon is the second player to join from Spurs this window alongside Joe Rodon, in a deal that saw Archie Gray head the other way. The 25-year-old will be aiming to re-find the form that saw him feature five times in the Premier League for the North London outfit at the start of last season before a meniscus injury ended his season prematurely in early October.

The Whites are understood to have held off a late challenge for his signature from Ajax, while clubs from the top leagues in Europe also showed an interest.

The 2023/24 campaign wasn’t Solomon’s first taste of life in English football’s top flight, having featured 19 times, scoring four, the season prior in a loan deal to Fulham from Shakhtar Donetsk. FIFA allowed foreign players to temporarily suspend their contracts with Ukrainian sides following the invasion from Russia.

Like Rodon, the Israel international will complete the move to West Yorkshire from North London without an option to make the deal permanent with the idea to kickstart his career at his parent club. If Solomon is to prove to be a hit at Elland Road, in a similar ilk to the Welshman, then a deal could be brokered to make his stay further north permanent.

Daniel Farke made no secret that he was eager to bolster the attacking roster available to his squad, and Ramazani’s arrival has been considered to be a direct replacement for Summerville. Primarily an adaptable winger Solomon will look to lay claim to a starting spot on either flank, but will also provide competition to fill in the Rutter-sized hole in the No. 10 spot following the Frenchman's departure to Brighton.

Speaking about transfers recently, Farke said: "We have to rebuild right now, but I trust our owners and board to come through with good decisions. I am optimistic and confident, but nobody wants to hear that right now, it's time to do some business.

"We have a very young group and one of the smallest numbers in the whole league. We have 19 first team players but some have played not many games. You can't expect the young players to do things regularly. Archie Gray did that last year but is a once in 30-years type player. We have a young side, but I am greatful for the experience players we have like Bamford and Rothwell. We need quality and we need personality and we need experience."

Leeds United are closing in one of the most exciting signings of the Championship window to date.

The Whites are close to completing a loan move for Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon as Daniel Farke's side look to mount another promotion push this season.

The Israeli international made a huge impact during his loan spell with Fulham in 2022/23, which saw Spurs swoop in to secure his services just 12 months ago. However, he struggled with a knee injury last season and had surgery on his meniscus in March which limited his minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

LeedsLive spoke with Alasdair Gold, Tottenham Hotspur correspondent for football.london for a brilliant insight into the Spurs winger ahead of his move to Elland Road.

Do you think it's a good move for Leeds United and the player?

Alasdair Gold: "Definitely. Leeds are getting a Premier League-level player once he finds his sharpness and rhythm again and for Manor Solomon he's playing at a Premier League-level club that just happens to have fallen down a step at the moment.

"He always wanted to remain in England and get himself back on track and this is a good deal for all parties.

Why hasn't it worked out for him at Tottenham after a decent loan spell with Fulham?

AG: "That knee injury. It's as simple as that. He would have got plenty of game time otherwise last season. Spurs only got to see him in six matches before a non-contact injury in training took him out of action for months and then a setback followed when he tried to come back at first towards the end of the campaign.

"That meant he was out from late September onwards and when he finally came back this summer after 10 months or so out, he looked understandably rusty, which is something that hopefully he will shake off with some regular minutes."

What sort of player is he? What are his main attributes?

AG: "He's a tricky winger with a low centre of gravity and bit of explosive acceleration. He contributed a couple of assists early on for Spurs before his injury and that was going to be the key, whether he could continue to find consistency in the final third, something that maybe wasn't always there at Fulham.

"That bit of explosive pace didn't appear to be there in pre-season for Spurs, which led to some quite muted performances but as I said above, hopefully that was just the 25-year-old shaking off the rust and probably trying to gain a bit of confidence in his body again after so long out."

Does he have a long-term future at Spurs?

AG: "Ange Postecoglou has so many wingers now that it's going to be tough for Solomon to break back in unless he's absolutely spectacular at Leeds. Even then Tottenham might see an opportunity to sell him to the Elland Road club.

"Tottenham have just signed Wilson Odobert for £30m in Solomon's position, have South Korean teenager Yang Min-hyeok arriving in January, and also have a real prodigy coming through the ranks in 17-year-old Mikey Moore.

"That's not even taking into account Son Heung-min, Timo Werner, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison who can all play on the wings. With squad regulations on how many you can register for Europe and the Premier League, there's not much, if any, free space in those areas."

Has Ange said anything about him in particular over the past few months?

AG: "He hasn't really spoken about Solomon too much to be honest. The Israel international played a few times early in pre-season without catching the eye before young Mikey Moore was chosen ahead of him as the summer wore on and the minutes dried up.

"The key for Solomon is getting back to where he was. He didn't get a lot of time in pre-season games to find his rhythm and the big competition in his position meant that he had to take whatever he could.

"At Leeds he'll get more minutes and that sharpness will return and hopefully so will the player who looked really bright and exciting at the start of last season both in the summer and in the early weeks of the campaign. If that version of Solomon returns then Leeds have a player who should wreak havoc in the Championship."

Ange Postecoglou insists there is a place in his Tottenham squad for Djed Spence if he continues to "take control of his own direction". Things have not gone according to plan for the right-back since moving to the North London club from Middlesbrough two years ago.

Spence never really found his place under Antonio Conte and went out on loan to French side Rennes for the second half of the 2022/23 season. He was unable to win a spot in Postecoglou's squad that summer and was sent on loan to Leeds United. He failed to shine at Elland Road and his deal was cut short early in the January transfer window.

Spence enjoyed a more successful time at Genoa in Serie A. So much so that the Italian club wanted to re-sign him this summer but were unwilling to meet Spurs' valuation of the 23-year-old.

Spence returned to Spurs with a big point to prove, having played just 43 minutes across six appearances for his parent club. But the former England Under-21 international has impressed throughout pre-season, both in training and in matches. Postecoglou has utilised Spence in the inverted full-back role on the club's tour to Japan and South Korea.

The Australian told our sister title football.london: "I think with Djed, for me we got him back into pre-season and we’re judging him on his merits. He's a Tottenham player. To be fair to him, I think he's been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he's trained and his general attitude. But a lot of these things are in the players' hands themselves. They kind of decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed is in that boat.

"I think there's an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would be definitely somebody who could [contribute] with the attributes he has. I thought last year there was a chance but it didn't quite work out. For those kind of things, I think sometimes players really wait for direction when they can really take control of their own direction."

Spurs have been linked with a number of right-backs this summer but it could well be that Spence has played his way into Postecoglou's first-team plans heading into the 2024/25 season.

"Djed’s here," he said. "He is a Spurs player. He's a very good player who fits into our football and so it's as much about him as it is about me making a decision.

"As you see right now, he's been very good pre-season, he's been very good on the tour. He's impressed all the coaches, not just myself. For some of them it’s the first time they've worked with him and they've all been really impressed with him.

"Maybe he's learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and hopefully we can sort of bear the fruit of that."

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-Min has tipped Archie Gray to make a 'huge impact' at his new club, as he has praised the impact the former Leeds United youngster has made already in North London.

Gray made the move to join Spurs earlier this month, as Leeds accepted a bid of around £30million to sell the talented teenage midfielder.

Despite his tender years, Gray was one of Leeds' best players last season, playing 53 times in all competitions as he helped the Whites reach the Championship play-off final.

But defeat at Wembley Stadium led to an acceptance that Leeds would have to cut their cloth financially and when Spurs made their move for Gray, they reacted accordingly.

The 18-year-old has already made a huge first impression during pre-season and Son has said Gray, and fellow new signing Lucas Bergvall, have been a 'joy to watch' this summer.

“Archie and Lucas are working really hard to show how good they are," Son told Football.London.

"[They are] Just a joy to watch. They just want to listen, want to learn. Those guys have amazing bright futures.

“You watch them and every single day they impress me with their attitude and quality. I’m really enjoying watching them in training. They are young but they can make a huge impact, that is very important now.

“Age is not important. They should realise they play for Tottenham now and take big responsibility. I have no doubt that they will be very good. Let’s see what happens this season. I hope they’ll both be amazing.”

Archie Gray has opened up on the key advice given to him by his family that helped him secure a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The talented teenager left Leeds United this summer after a standout campaign that almost ended with promotion back to the Premier League for Daniel Farke's side. However, falling at the final hurdle in the play-off final, Gray was sold to help balance the books at Elland Road this summer, with his transfer to North London aiding the club financially.

Initially, it was thought that the 18-year-old star was heading to Brentford after agreeing personal terms with the Premier League outfit. Gray, however, chose another London-based side and after lengthy conversations with Ange Postecoglou, a deal was struck with the Liliywhites.

Speaking to Football London recently, Gray admitted that his father Andy was a huge influence in the move to Tottenham, insisting the infrastructure and size of the club were just two bonuses of the move. Gray’s grandfather agreed too, with the family stance on joining Spurs ultimately helping the teenager in his decision.

“It’s a huge club and my dad said that too,” said Gray. “He came to my room one morning and said ‘look, you’ve got to go to Spurs. It’s a massive club’. My grandad was saying it as well, he’s obviously done pretty well in his career, and he said at some point you’ve got to go to one of the biggest clubs in England and he thinks now is the right time and he thinks Spurs is a massive club as well.”

“So, with people who have been advising me my whole life, I have to listen to them and I also wanted to do it too, so that was definitely a massive thing and since then I’ve enjoyed every second of it. So, definitely happy that I made that decision,” he added.

Archie Gray has enjoyed an impressive first week at Tottenham Hotspur following his £30million move from Leeds United.

Gray, 18, was one of Leeds' shining lights last season in a Championship season which ultimately ended in heartbreak when they were beaten in the play-off final by Southampton at Wembley Stadium.

As such, interest in him this summer was inevitable and it was Spurs who put up the money to convince Leeds to sell one of the best talents the club's academy has produced for a number of years.

The England youth international will now test himself at Premier League level and, according to our sister title football.london, he has already impressed at his new club during his first week of training.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou handed Gray his first appearance for the club in Saturday's behind closed doors friendly with League One side Cambridge United.

Having been utilised as a central midfielder and a right-back, interestingly, Postecoglou started Gray at right-back during what is understood to be a goal-laden friendly match.

He was part of a Spurs side that is understood to have raced into a 5-0 lead at half-time thanks to a Brennan Johnson hat-trick and a brace from Son Heung-Min.

Teenager Mikey Moore added another goal for Spurs in the second half, while Tino Werner forced an own goal from a Cambridge player, too, and Cambridge are believed to have hit back with a consolation goal of their own.

Leeds United tried to get a deal done that would have seen Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp arrive at Elland Road alongside Joe Rodon, as part of the transfer that saw Archie Gray head to London. Ultimately, transfer negotiations were completed without the Skipp transfer being included in the deal, but could it still happen?

Our colleagues at football.london say it was unlikely Skipp was ever going to be included in the deal which saw Rodon and Gray swapped, plus £30m in money heading to Elland Road, however that's not to say talks cannot be reopened on a specific deal, or perhaps even a loan move for next season.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke is a big admirer of Skipp, having worked with the player in Norwich City's promotion-winning season. Farke would love to repeat that feat with Skipp, who is now much more experienced and would arrive at Leeds a much better player than the one Farke previously worked with.

Boosting Leeds' midfield options may not be the number one priority given the players who have returned to the club and those who have left, with full-back a clear issue which needs resolving as a matter of urgency, but that's not to say it isn't an area to address. Eager to get the Gray deal done as quickly as possible to meet Profit and Sustainability rules, Leeds now have time to assess their options, with consideration taken as to whether they should return to try get a deal done for Skipp.

Tottenham Hotspur have received a 'verbal offer' from Ipswich Town to sign former Leeds United defender Joe Rodon.

The Welsh international enjoyed a successful loan spell at Elland Road last season and United are keen to sign the 26-year-old on a permanent basis this summer.

But Leeds face competition from three Premier League sides for his signature, with Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town all eager to sign the former Stade Rennais defender.

And, according to our sister title Football.London, it is Ipswich who have stolen a march on their rivals in the race to sign Rodon this summer.

Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold wrote on social media: "Understand Spurs have received a verbal offer for Joe Rodon from Ipswich. Nothing formal or submitted in writing yet. As I reported before, Leicester and Leeds are also after the Wales defender, who is currently abroad at a training camp ahead of the new season."

It is believed Spurs have set a £10million asking price and it remains to be seen whether the Tractor Boys' verbal offer has managed to hit that threshold.

Should Rodon make the move to Portman Road, it would be a blow for Leeds if they missed out on a player who became a fan favourite in West Yorkshire last season.

Leeds United could be setting up a number of reunions through deals with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur this summer as both sides eye up potential targets from one another.

It's already been a busy month for Daniel Farke's side who have seen a number of departures over the last few weeks, with their first fee-based exit coming in the form of midfielder Marc Roca's permanent move to Real Betis. Elsewhere, long-time full-back Luke Ayling loan spell at Middlesborough was made into a permanent deal while Jack Harrison extended his loan deal with Everton and Sonny Perkins was sent on loan to Leyton Orient.

Lewis Bate made a move to Stockport County and Ian Poveda has entered free agency but there are still many more moves on the cards. Centre-back Charlie Cresswell is said to be on his way out to Ligue 1 club Toulouse after falling down the pecking order under Farke, having made just five appearances last season despite an impressive loan spell at Millwall the season prior, while Illan Meslier has attracted attention from Marseille.

It's also claimed that there could be exits for both Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto with a number of Premier League clubs sniffing around the pair who were both pivotal to Leeds' promotion chase in the 2023/24 campaign. However, that failed hunt to return to the Premier League has meant that the Whites have a reported £190million in outstanding transfer fees owed alongside one of the Championship's highest wage bills but must bolster their squad in order to go again.

One name that they're looking at is Spurs midfielder Oliver Skipp according to our sister title football.london, who has himself fallen down the pecking order under Ange Postecoglou following the Australian's arrival in north London last summer. The English youth international made just five starts in the Premier League last season in 21 appearances after Postecoglou preferred a partnership of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr in the central midfield.

Farke is said to be keen on the idea of reuniting with Skipp, who played under the German for Norwich in the 2020/21 season and was a staple in their Championship-winning campaign that year. However, it's unclear whether Skipp would be open to such a move, whether a permanent one or on loan, given that a number of Premier League clubs would be expected to come in for the star if Spurs were willing to part ways with him - even with three years still on his current contract.

That on top of the fact that Skipp's home-grown status being key for Spurs to stay within the Europa League regulations for the upcoming season would make his price tag hard to justify given Leeds' financial fears at the current time. Another star that may be easier to reunite with would be Joe Rodon, who is said to be on Leeds' shortlist this summer.

Having gone back to Spurs at the end of his loan spell, in which he made 50 appearances for the Whites under Farke, Rodon could well be out of the picture in north London given their recent additions to centre-back in Micky Van de Ven and Radu Dragusin. With just 12 months left on his contract, the star's permanent return to Elland Road isn't off the cards by any stretch having played a key role in helping Leeds in their promotion chase.

However, Tottenham will want something going the other way - and that something is Archie Gray. It's been heavily reported that Spurs hold an interest in the 18-year-old, but now Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are all eyeing up the starlet, it could mean Postecoglou's side pull the trigger first to try and get ahead of the crowd.

Gray was arguably Leeds' standout star last year, winning the club's Young Player of the Season on top of the EFL's Championship Young Player of the Season and Championship Apprentice of the Season awards and proving that Leeds' value of between £30m and £50m for the star is well justified.

Leeds United starlet Archie Gray is one of the hottest properties outside of the Premier League. The 18-year-old has many top flight admirers, with Chelsea the latest elite club to have "joined the race" to sign the talented teenager.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Whites have "financial issues" to contend with after failing to win promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt and suggest Gray is on the Blues' transfer radar as Enzo Maresca looks to revamp their midfield this summer. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a top performer under Maresca in Leicester City's last term, is also reportedly wanted by Chelsea.

The Daily Telegraph report states Chelsea have yet to make a formal approach for either Dewsbury-Hall or Gray. The national newspaper claims United want well over £30m for Gray, who excelled in a fantastic breakthrough campaign at Elland Road last term. He starred first in midfield and then sparkled at right-back as Daniel Farke's men finished third in the table after racking up 90 points. The 18-year-old made 52 appearances across all competitions, including all three of the club's play-off matches.

Chelsea are not the only club to have expressed their interest in Gray, with Borussia Dortmund also believed to be genuine contenders for his signature. Tottenham have also been strongly linked with Gray while Liverpool are said to have kept close tabs on the player over the course of the 2023/24 season.

England Under-21 international Gray will be expected back at Thorp Arch next week for the first day of pre-season testing and training, having flown out to Dubai to work on his conditioning with ex-Leeds fitness coach Chris Bowman.

Chelsea's transfer interest in Dewsbury-Hall and Gray will only increase speculation over the future of Conor Gallagher, who is currently on England duty. The midfielder has attracted interest from Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid in recent weeks.