Leeds United: Daniel Farke has Archie Gray replacement under his nose - View | OneFootball

The Whites may just have a ready-made replacement already in their ranks

Leeds United face many ports of call across the summer transfer window if they are to successfully avenge last season’s failed promotion bid and go all the way next year.

Vitally, the Whites must attempt to retain as many of their prized assets as possible, with Crysencio Summerville, Glen Kamara,Ilian Meslier and Georgino Rutter all deservedly earning their fair share of suitors in recent weeks.

It’ll be even more important now that 18-year-old academy product Archie Gray has completed his £40 million switch to Tottenham Hotspur amid interest across the Premier League and overseas.

Gray, in spite of his age, was a key component within the side that reached the play-off final last season and can’t be criticised for desiring a move to English football’s top-flight, where he’ll have the chance to show what Whites supporters already know to a Premier League audience.

He’s a class act, that’s for sure, and Gray’s footballing ceiling is extremely high, meaning it’ll be a real challenge for Daniel Farke to source an ample replacement even though Leeds are in a much healthier financial position following his transfer departure.

However, Leeds may not need to dip into that transfer kitty to fill the Gray-shaped hole now in their side.

Tottenham signing Archie Gray will be tough to replace for Leeds United

There are a whole range of reasons why Gray will be a big miss at Elland Road where, rather unsurprisingly given his roots, he was able to build a stellar rapport with the club’s fans - even if it didn’t last for as long as they’d have hoped.

An illustrious family tree was hardly the sole determiner of Gray’s popularity at Leeds though, where attributes such as grit, passion and an unwavering desire to get stuck in and play for the badge - particularly when the going gets tough - are all demanded by the Whites faithful.

Gray ticked all of those boxes during his sole season in the club’s first-team, but he supplemented them with his technical quality on the ball too, helping Leeds to often dictate the flow of matches before putting opponents to the sword through individual magic from the likes of Summerville and Rutter.

Indeed, Gray will likely find the transition to Premier League football easier than most because of his calmness and assurance in possession, always appearing to have time and space and rarely making rash errors of judgment under pressure which are usually, and understandably, commonplace among players of his age.

That can be attributed to the way in which the England youth international reads and analyses what’s in front of him in real time, which helped him to adapt to a less-familiar right-back role for large parts of the campaign.

Charlie Crew is Leeds United’s ready-made Archie Gray replacement

The best way to be endorsed as a replacement for Gray is being endorsed by Gray himself - and that was the case for Charlie Crew at the back-end of last season, who received a glowing seal of approval.

When quizzed on the players that Leeds supporters can next expect to appear off the club’s talent production line, Gray name checked both Crew and his younger brother, Harry.

He said: “Yeah there’s definitely loads, Charlie Crew has been training with us for a few weeks and is a really good player.

“Then there is my brother as well.

“He”s obviously really good but I didn’t want to give him too much praise because he’s my brother and I shouldn’t be doing that.

“But yeah, I’d go with Charlie Crew”

For the ardent followers of Leeds’ age-group sides, Gray’s double-revelation won’t come as much of a surprise.

Crew, who was initially given his footballing education with Championship rivals Cardiff City, has impressed for Leeds at youth level since making the reported six-figure switch two years ago, showcasing many of the qualities that made Gray such a strong success story in West Yorkshire.

When it comes to young prospects, Gray is very much an exception to the rule and you have to remember how rare it really is to see such unwavering levels of consistency and quality at that age, but Crew represents a viable and ready-made replacement to step up and fill that void in months and potentially years to come.

Of course, there's no guarantee that Crew will be able to do what Gray has done right away, as the latter appears to be a generational talent that could make Championship football look very easy at times despite his slender age.

But having been given the endorsement from Gray and also Crysencio Summerville, and having been called up to the Wales first-team squad for the very first time this summer and given his first cap, the future is very much bright for Crew, who will be looking to pick up where Gray left off at Elland Road last season.