Sources: Daniel Farke “considering” Leeds United position amid Archie Gray twists — Leeds All Over 30/6/24

Kris Smith

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is believed to be very upset at the board’s decision to potentially sell Archie Gray, amid reports of a rejected £40million bid from Brentford.

The Whites’ summer window is yet to get up and running with an arrival, one month on from the heartbreak of the Championship playoff final defeat to Southampton.

A grim reality that is setting in following that Wembley blow is the need to comply with PSR in the EFL, which in turn might mean the sale of Archie Gray to bridge that gap.

Saturday brought huge news in Gray’s future, as reports emerged that a medical with Premier League Brentford was due to get underway as the two clubs seemed to reach an agreement on the fee.

A fee in the region of £40million was what Leeds were in line for, plus performance-related add-ons on top.

What was stressed is the possibility of a hijack from other clubs, shared by multiple outlets, namely from Tottenham in particular as well as Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, and West Ham.

However, a huge twist was shared this morning in the form of Leeds rejecting Brentford’s proposal, according Graham Smyth:

The fallout to Gray’s possible departure was as expected amongst Leeds fans, and manager Daniel Farke is equally displeased with developments pertaining to his star talent.

Sources have indicated to Leeds All Over that the German was “seething” over the Elland Road hierarchy’s looming decision to allow Gray to be sold this week.

So much so that the emotion of the proposed deal has led to Farke considering his position at Leeds as manager, even though a departure is believed to be very unlikely at this stage.

The 49ers Enterprises would be likely to frame any decision in a manner to Farke of it being purely financially motivated, which could diffuse the situation somewhat heading into pre-season preparations.

LeedsLive’s Beren Cross has shared further details of the reasoning behind this bid being rejected, claiming the structure of Brentford’s offer is the cause of a deal breaking down.

PSR has plagued so many clubs in the last few seasons and it’s very obvious now that the 49ers inherited a situation at Leeds far worse than any of us imagined from the outside.

What that means here is that a sale for Gray was probably inevitable from the moment we lost at Wembley.

It’s bordering on unforgivable for a lot of fans seeing a generational talent leave the club to any top-flight side after just 12 months of senior football, and the mood can only change if there’s tangible proof that we’ll be in a better position going forward because of selling Gray.

Reinvest this money into having the best side in the 24/25 Championship contingent and fans might come around to justifying it, but that’s a big ask and a rod the 49ers have just made for their own back.

What we can say is that the hierarchy have a battle on their hands to regain the trust of an incredibly cutthroat fanbase, who’ve had more than their fair share of untrustworthy owners.