Young Leeds United midfielder Archie Gray attracted the interest of several “much bigger clubs” before signing his first professional contract with the Yorkshire club, says his agent Hayden Evans.
A product of the club’s academy system – Gray has impressed during his time at Leeds throughout all age groups.
He featured 14 times for the Whites’ Under-23s last season, despite only being 15 years old at the time.
It was at this tender age that Gray found himself part of a first-team Premier League squad when he was named on the bench for Leeds’ home game against Arsenal in December 2021. He went on to feature on the bench five more times during this campaign.
The promising youngster signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Whites in March of this year after he turned 17 – the age at which a professional contract could be legally signed by Gray.
Before this, however, he was the subject of interest from several “bigger” clubs, both within England and in Europe.
That is according to his agent Evans, who revealed as much on The Athletic’s Phil Hay Show podcast
“He’s committed his immediate future to Leeds and there was a lot of genuine interest from much bigger clubs frankly and clubs on the continent,” said Evans.
“But Leeds is where he wants to be it’s as simple as that.”
Gray is the latest addition to a promising crop of youth players, with a focus on developing emerging talent being one of the key priorities for Whites’ director of football Victor Orta.
