Tottenham sign Leeds midfield starlet Archie Gray for £30m, as Joe Rodon heads in the opposite direction in separate £10m deal

Tottenham have completed the signing of Leeds midfielder Archie Gray for £30million, with Joe Rodon heading the other way in a separate £10million deal.

The 18-year-old Gray is Spurs’ third signing of the summer, having extended Timo Werner’s loan from RB Leipzig for another year and brought in promising youngster Lucas Bergvall from Swedish club Djurgarden.

Gray shone for his hometown club in the Championship last season, making 52 appearances in all competitions as the club reached the play-off final.

However, Leeds suffered a heavy defeat at Wembley, where they were beaten 1-0 by Southampton.

After Leeds failed to gain promotion to the Premier League, the club needed to raise money this summer, and Gray was in high demand after his impressive performances in the second tier.

He has now sealed a move to Tottenham, while Leeds admit they are ‘heartbroken’ at losing one of their own.

The club announced his departure on Tuesday morning via X, writing: ‘It is with broken hearts that Archie Gray sees one of our own players leave. He leaves with best wishes from everyone at #LUFC as he joins Tottenham.’

However, the mood is different at Spurs after they beat off competition for Gray’s signature.

They posted on X: ‘We are delighted to announce the arrival of Archie Gray from Leeds United. Welcome to Tottenham Hotspur, Archie!’ alongside a photo of the teenager holding up his Spurs shirt.

Tottenham looked set to miss out on Gray on Saturday when Brentford entered talks with Leeds over a £35million transfer fee for the midfielder.

This led to a furious reaction from Leeds fans, who expressed their dismay at the loss of one of their own talents, who is also the nephew of club legend Eddie.

Negotiations between Brentford and Leeds came to nothing, but Tottenham stepped in anyway and hope to continue a promising first season under Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham Hotspur narrowly missed out on the Champions League final last season after the team had lost form in the final weeks of the campaign. Postecoglou admitted he needed to strengthen his squad this summer to take his team to the next level.

Gray brings versatility to the North London club, having played as a central midfielder and right-back at Leeds.

He has already got Tottenham fans excited about what he can bring to the team after footage emerged of him putting in a stunning performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup last season.

Gray’s arrival at Spurs also marks the end of another Tottenham career, as Rodon moves permanently to Elland Road.

The 26-year-old defender moved to Tottenham from Swansea in 2020, but made just 24 appearances in his two seasons at the club.

He was loaned to Ligue 1 club Rennes for the 2022-23 season and spent last season on loan at Leeds.

Rodon was a regular in Daniel Farke’s team and has now joined Leeds on a permanent basis in a bid to bounce back from their play-off misery next season.

More to follow…