Archie Gray is set to undergo a medical at Brentford after agreeing personal terms to join the west London club from Leeds United.
A host of Premier League and other European teams have been pursuing the 18-year-old midfielder, however Brentford manoeuvred themselves into the strongest position and are now working to close out a deal.
If all goes according to plan on the player’s side, Brentford can be expected to reach an agreement with Leeds for a fee in the region of £35million.
Interest remains from elsewhere and Leeds are also not resigned to losing such a highly-rated talent, although their financial position may leave them with no choice but to reluctantly sanction his exit.
The England Under-21 international enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with Leeds last term — making 28 appearances in all competitions — and was a regular, in both midfield and at right-back, as Daniel Farke’s side reached the play-off final.
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He is under contract at Elland Road until 2028. Gray’s previous deal with the club was due to expire in 2025 but he signed a three-year extension in January.
Gray came through the club’s academy system and was selected in a first-team Premier League squad at the age of 15 by former manager Marcelo Bielsa.
He was named on the bench a further five times in 2021-22 without featuring before his performances for Leeds in the Championship helped earn him a number of admirers.
Gray enjoyed a breakout season for Leeds (George Wood/Getty Images)
Leeds are under pressure to sell to help balance the books and not run the risk of any potential profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) punishment.
Following their failure to achieve promotion back to the top flight, Leeds ‘acceptable loss’ limit under PSR is set to drop from about £83m to about £61m over a three-year cycle.
As a homegrown player the fee recouped for Gray would be accounted for as pure profit.
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Asked by The Athletic in May whether Gray would be sold, chairman Paraag Marathe said: “It’s a little too early to answer specific questions. I can’t talk on specific players right now.
“If I can paint the big picture, there are certain things we need to do and we’ll make sure we’re fully compliant with PnS. There are certain trade-offs we have to make. We have to get to the drawing board to work out which moves we have to make.
“Obviously, Archie’s a tremendous player, but every season brings change. I can’t yet comment but we’ll see what happens.”
Brentford finished 16th in the Premier League last season to ensure a fourth-successive campaign in the top flight under Thomas Frank after earning promotion in 2020-21.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)