Leeds United supporters would have been getting carried away after the 4-0 demolition job of Norwich City in the Championship play-off semi-finals, hoping that this was the year where they would break their dreaded curse in the knockout format and return straight back to the Premier League.
Yet, as much as the Whites blew away the Canaries with a tantalising attacking display at Elland Road to seal a place in the showpiece final, Daniel Farke's men were out-of-sorts, in contrast, at Wembley going forward with a drab overall performance from the West Yorkshire titans handing Southampton promotion.
This crushing loss could result in a major summer of upheaval now happening, as the grim reality of another season down in the second tier dawns on Leeds, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto being talked up for big moves away to abandon the failed Farke project.
Archie Gray's potential exit could be one that cuts deep the most, considering his swift progression up to the first-team only came about this season, but could well be the one that pockets Leeds the most money after a spectacular debut campaign for the heavily sought-after wonderkid.
Archie Gray's rise at Leeds
Gray undoubtedly benefited from his boyhood club's relegation at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, having already started knocking on the door of the men's set-up for chances, even as the Whites remained in the Premier League.
First in and amongst the substitutes in the top-flight at the tender age of just 15, with the fabled Marcelo Bielsa taking a shining to the young starlet by allowing him to train with the first team, Gray hasn't looked back since bedding himself in with ease as a crucial presence in Farke's line-ups this campaign, away from just previously watching on.
Gray, who was predominantly used as a central midfielder for the U18s and U23s, has shone in an unorthodox right-back position for Leeds in the jump-up, not letting a positional change faze him one bit when acclimatising to the tough demands of Championship action.
Thirty of his first-team starts for the season have come down this once unfamiliar right-hand side, with a goal and two assists notched up along the way from 52 total appearances.
Described as being an "unbelievable" talent by Not the Top 20 podcast host Ali Maxwell during such a breakout season, football analyst Ben Mattinson has also even touted Gray to be a future "£100m CM", with his skillset in the centre of the park as dangerous as his new capabilities of filling in at defence.
That was seen when Gray bagged on his England U21 debut playing in this different spot in the team back in March, needing just five minutes to slot home.
Stat
Gray
Phillips
Games played
52
38
Goals scored
1
1
Assists
2
2
Touches per game
54.4
45.6
Big chances created
2
2
Interceptions per game
0.7
1.2
Tackles per game
2.1
2.1
Matching Phillips' full debut season back during the 2016/17 campaign this season, with eerily similar numbers in certain aspects of their respective games when looking at the table above, Gray could also prove to be a bumper sale for the Whites in a similar regard to their other homegrown product.
Gaining £45m for Phillips in 2022 made the now Manchester City flop the second-highest sale in Leeds' history, falling just behind Raphinha's excessive £55m sale, with Gray potentially being sold for even more now, despite only experiencing one full season in the senior set-up at Elland Road after being given his big break by Farke.
Archie Gray's transfer value in 2024
According to football journalist Graeme Bailey recently, Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich are just one of a myriad of gigantic clubs looking at going after Gray's services this summer, with Leeds braced for a tug-of-war with many a side about keeping their prized asset.
A further report from the i News in April stated that Gray could be allowed to leave if a bid in the region of £50m was coughed up for the top teenage talent, making him £5m more expensive than Phillips before his ill-fated switch to Manchester, and the second highest sale in the club's history consequently.
Already being given a bumper new contract reportedly to try and keep a firm grip on their 18-year-old sensation for just that bit longer, Gray could have his head understandably turned regardless of his long-standing affinity to the Whites.
Moving away would be particularly tempting when you consider further interest has come in the form of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, who have taken the likes of Jude Bellingham and Harvey Elliott respectively on as young gems and turned them into even more exceptional stars.
Gray, as well as attracting a prettier penny than Phillips, could also generate the Whites more money than other in-demand personnel, with Summerville touted for a move away in the region of £35-40m whilst Gnonto could attract £30m as well.
Player
Price purchased for
Potential sale price
Gray
£0
£50m+
Summerville
£1.3m
£35-40m
Gnonto
£3.8m
£30m
Leeds wouldn't turn their nose up at any of the wild fees that could come their way this summer when considering their previous bargain dealing to get that trio into the building, with Gray costing zilch as a result of coming through the esteemed Whites youth set-up.
Regardless of an added injection of cash coming in the form of Red Bull taking a minority ownership in the club, Leeds will know that multiple player sales are needed this off-season, in order to balance the books appropriately and so as not to face any severe financial repercussions.
As much as it is looking unlikely, Farke and Co will have to pray that Gray's family tree connection to the club – with him being the great nephew of Leeds icon Eddie Gray – has some bearing potentially on the teenager not wanting to uproot still as a talent only one season deep into his senior career.
Yet, money could ultimately talk, with Gray then embarking on a grand new adventure elsewhere away from his hometown club.
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