Tottenham sign Leeds midfield starlet Archie Gray for £30m, as Joe Rodon heads in the opposite direction in separate £10m deal

Tottenham have completed the signing of Leeds midfielder Archie Gray for £30m, with Joe Rodon heading in the opposite direction in a separate £10m deal.

Gray, 18, is Spurs' third signing of the summer after they opted to extend Timo Werner's loan spell from RB Leipzig for another year, and brought in exciting youngster Lucas Bergvall from Swedish club Djurgarden.

Gray starred for his hometown club in the Championship last season, making 52 appearances across all competitions as they made the play-off final.

However, Leeds suffered heartbreak at Wembley as they were beaten 1-0 by Southampton.

Following their failure to secure promotion back to the Premier League, Leeds were left in the position of having to raise funds this summer, and Gray was in high demand after his impressive showings in the second tier.

He has now sealed a move to Tottenham, with Leeds admitting they are 'heartbroken' to lose one of their own.

Announcing his departure on X on Tuesday morning, the club wrote: 'Heartbroken to see one of our own depart, Archie Gray leaves with the best wishes of everyone at #LUFC, as he joins Tottenham.'

The mood is different at Spurs, though, after they beat off competition for Gray's signature.

They posted on X: 'We are delighted to announce the signing of Archie Gray from Leeds United. Welcome to Tottenham Hotspur, Archie!' alongside a picture of the teenager holding up his Spurs shirt.

Tottenham had looked set to miss out on Gray on Saturday when Brentford held talks with Leeds over a £35m fee for the midfielder.

This sparked a furious reaction from Leeds fans, as they expressed their dismay at losing one of their homegrown talents, who is also the nephew of club legend, Eddie.

Talks subsequently broke down between Brentford and Leeds, but Tottenham swooped in to get their man as they look to build on a promising first season under Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs narrowly missed out on Champions League football last term after losing form in the final weeks of the season, and Postecoglou admitted he needed to strengthen his squad this summer to take his team to the next level.

Gray will bring versatility to the north London club, having operated in central midfield and at right back for Leeds.

He has already got Tottenham fans excited about what he could bring to the team after footage re-emerged of him putting in a stunning display against Chelsea in the FA Cup last season. 

Gray's arrival at Spurs also marks the end of another Tottenham career, with Rodon moving to Elland Road permanently.

The 26-year-old defender moved to Tottenham in 2020 from Swansea, but was limited to 24 appearances in his first two seasons at the club.

He was loaned to out to Ligue 1 outfit Rennes for the 2022-23 season, and then spent last year on loan at Leeds.

Rodon was a regular fixture in Daniel Farke's side, and has now joined Leeds for good as they aim to bounce back from their play-off misery next season.