Crysensio Summerville issue emerges that meant Leeds United sold Archie Gray to Spurs | OneFootball

Leeds' financial issues forced them to move on from their young star.

Highlights

The lack of credible offers for Crysencio Summerville led to Leeds United needing to sell Archie Gray, according to The Athletic.

Letting one of your own go is always hard for a football club. A player that you have developed, honed and nurtured being picked off by another club so that they can profit from your hard work always stings, especially when it wasn't necessary.

Not everything in the deal that has led to Gray, 18, leaving Elland Road to join Tottenham Hotspur has been bad for Leeds. They essentially received £30 million and the services of former loanee defender Joe Rodon in exchange for the talented teen.

Because he is one of their own too, selling him was of massive help to the club's financial issues. Under the Profit and Sustainability rules, selling academy players, who you didn't have to pay a fee to obtain, is much more handy than selling someone that you previously paid a fee for.

It will be tough for Gray too, leaving his boyhood club, especially given his family's links to West Yorkshire.

His preference was always to stay where he was, but the situation became untenable from the club's point of view, and they had to use him to help themselves.

He has got them out of financial trouble by going before the end of June, even though the deal was only officially announced today (Tuesday 2nd July).

It might not have had to come to this if they'd found a new home for Summerville in time.

Crysencio Summerville factor in Leeds United, Archie Gray sale

Leeds' necessity to sell the 18-year-old would have been lessened if they had sold their star winger before the end of last month, as per The Athletic.

They have reported that Leeds didn't get any offers for the Dutchman that both they and he wanted to take.

The chances of him leaving before the start of July became slimmer, and the need to generate funds led to Gray's departure.

There was interest from a number of clubs in both the teenager and his Player of the Season winning former teammate.

Gray looked all but set to join Brentford in a deal worth £40 million. He completed a medical in west London before telling his boyhood team to reject their offer after having his head turned by Tottenham. Borussia Dortmund were keen on the versatile midfielder too.

Summerville was on the watchlist of Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool and Chelsea, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The sale of Gray or Summerville was inevitable

After the play-off final loss, everybody knew that someone in that Leeds squad was going to have to go. Even if they had been promoted to the Premier League, they may still have felt a bit apprehensive about their spending abilities this summer.

Once their EFL fate was sealed, that apprehension would have turned to real panic.

Gray and Summerville were the premier, wanted talents. Leeds were at the behest of the bigger boys, praying that they would be bailed out by one of them while not losing too much of their dignity in the deal.

And they haven't had their pants pulled down. £30 million plus a proven, top-level Championship centre-half is solid business.

A lot of Leeds fans would have wanted Summerville to be the one to go, out of the two. But needs must, and their need was to generate funds quickly. Their only viable option, as the days of June were ending, was to use Gray to bail themselves out.