Leeds United’s prize talent Harry Gray is sure to be subject to interest from some of England’s elite, but their intent to sign him comes with significant obstacles.
United boast one of the best academies in the north of England at Thorp Arch. We’re constantly seeing talent emerge from the academy into the first team as well as moving on to other sides across the country.
The issue Leeds have is the food chain in England. In that, if Leeds have a generational player breaking through, some of the biggest clubs around will be sniffing – namely Manchester City, who have a habit for it.
Most Read on LeedsAllOver
Are there rumours of Harry Gray potentially moving to Manchester City from Leeds United?
Like I said, when you have someone as talented as Harry Gray breaking through into your first team setup, they’re going to be scouted on a regular basis.
For Gray, he’s got supposed high-profile suitors in the form of Spurs and Manchester City among others, according to reports.
The latter is a real worry for Leeds, given their hoovering up of talent across the board in recent years. And, having seen Finlay Gorman leave Thorp Arch for a move to the Etihad academy at the age of 15, there’s always that fear in the back of your mind that a talent will leave when the opportunity to progress is there.
After all, as much as Leeds were in a dire position where they needed to sell Harry’s older brother Archie, he was eager to make that exit.
How much would Manchester City have to pay to sign Harry Gray from Leeds United?
As much as you worry whenever you see a big fish like Man City eyeing our talent, there’s a major caveat to this link.
That caveat being that we’ve already tied down Gray to his first professional contract. When Gorman left for Man City at age 15, we were powerless to stopping him, due to not being eligible for a pro deal – if he wanted to move academies, he was within his rights.
Leeds United have a battle to keep hold of prize talent Harry Gray, as Manchester City circle. (Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith)
As for Gray, we got him on professional terms. Therefore, any team wanting to sign him will have to pay a proper transfer fee to take him from us.
Consequently, you can expect that United won’t be happy to let him leave for anything reasonable. That’s because we’ve already seen one prized asset from the same family leave against our own wishes.
Meanwhile, clubs in the Championship have been alerted to the possibility that the 17-year-old is available on loan when the January window opens.
What is a reasonable fee to expect for Harry Gray, as Leeds United prepare for Manchester City interest?
It’s hard to put a finger on how much Leeds would actually be able to command for Gray. We, as Leeds fans, all know how talented he is and how far he could go in the game.
However, the proof for buying clubs is in their senior exposure. As a result, the clubs who have made the most money from selling players under the age of 18 has been how well they’ve taken to senior football.
At this stage, Jude Bellingham moving from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund is currently the most expensive 17-year-old transfer in football (via Transfermarkt):
Player Season From To Fee
Jude Bellingham 20/21 Birmingham City Borussia Dortmund £26.30m
Alexandre Pato 07/08 Internacional AC Milan £20.94m
Pedri 19/20 Las Palmas Barcelona £20.06m
Pietro Pellegri 17/18 Genoa Monaco £18.23m
Jadon Sancho 17/18 Man City (youth) Borussia Dortmund £17.96m
Mathys Tel 22/23 Stade Rennais Bayern Munich £17.45m
While Leeds obviously won’t want to lose Gray for any price, the January window may prove a potential persuader. It’s no secret that United have little funds for big spending in the new year, and the pure profit of Gray in keeping with the fees above would allow an ambitious window that could secure our long-term place in the division.
Read more: Daniel Farke says Leeds United have one of the best PL players in their position.