Leeds United have come out the other side of a turbulent summer with a bit between their teeth still, eager to kick on and return back to the Premier League under Daniel Farke.
Farke nearly steered the Whites to an instant return to the top-flight last season, but his unlucky side ultimately came unstuck in the Championship playoffs to Southampton, as an Adam Armstrong strike at Wembley was enough for the Saints to taste promotion over the West Yorkshire outfit in what was a nail-biting final.
Leeds did wave goodbye to many of their stars from the season off the back of this crushing loss, who all moved up to the Premier League, with Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter notable departees.
Archie Gray also left the building, having been given his first big shot in the Whites first-team under the German manager, when he was once just a wide-eyed youngster keen to learn the first-team ropes someday under previous regimes.
Gray's rise at Leeds
Gray would end up becoming a very key part of the Leeds team that so nearly got over the line and returned to the promised land of the top-flight last campaign, as the much talked about teenage talent went on to make 47 league appearances.
He would pick up two assists from those games too, helping to fix a selection headache that bothered Farke towards the start of the season in the process, with Gray more often than not filling in at right-back instead of playing in a more naturally suited central midfield spot.
Gray's importance to the Leeds cause rising rapidly also resulted in his transfer value rocketing up, with the homegrown Whites product worth just £1.3m up until Farke's arrival in the summer of 2023, when his minutes were restricted to just playing for the U21s.
After announcing himself onto the Championship as a cool performer under pressure though, even when regularly playing in an unorthodox position in the Leeds defence, Gray's value would soar all the way up to a ridiculous £16.7m by May 2024, according to Football Transfers.
It did feel like only a matter of time, therefore, before Gray was snapped up by a bigger club in the wake of Leeds failing to clinch promotion, with Tottenham Hotspur eventually winning his coveted services ahead of other interested parties such as Bayern Munich.
Any deal to snap up the wonderkid was going to cost a bomb, however, as Spurs ultimately splurged the necessary cash on Gray to make him a statement summer buy.
Gray's value in 2024
Gray would cost Ange Postecoglou's Spurs an eye-watering £30m to get in through the door during the busy transfer window, a remarkable rise in price from when the 18-year-old ace was worth just a paltry £1.3m.
That means his price tag had shot up by a staggering 2207%, in just a short two-year span, as Postecoglou and Co continue to pray that their new mega-money buy acclimatises to the Premier League well.
He did shine in pre-season for his brand new North London outfit against the likes of Bayern Munich, with Gray lining up at both full-back and in a holding midfield role in these games, whilst the former Leeds star has also featured in two Premier League games so far.
If he does go on to find a starting spot in the Spurs XI week in and week out, his value will shoot up even more undoubtedly, with Leeds left wondering if they could have got more out of the top-flight side as a result.
Leeds have managed to adjust to life without Gray rather well, however, as Junior Firpo continues to breathe life back into his once rocky Whites career at left-back, with an assist coming his way last time out versus Hull City sealing a second league win on the spin.
Farke's job will be on thin ice if he doesn't deliver promotion this time around for the Whites, even with all of the high-profile departures his side have had to contend with in the bumpy window.
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