Leeds United exit Archie Gray 'makes January decision' amid Tottenham struggles as Champions League club eye £20m Sunderland raid

Leeds United have just one more international break to endure before a decent run of Championship football arrives. Daniel Farke’s men have managed to keep pace with their early promotion rivals despite the stop-start nature of three breaks in as many months, even cutting Sunderland’s four-point gap in half after beating Queens Park Rangers 2-0 on Saturday.

Several first-team stars will now jet off to represent their respective countries over the next fortnight, with some intriguing plot-lines involving Leeds representation. Farke will soon start preparing for next weekend’s trip to Swansea City and in the meantime, the YEP has rounded up some of the latest stories surrounding the club.

Gray future

Leeds summer exit Archie Gray looks set to fight for his place at Tottenham Hotspur despite reports linking him with a January loan move away. GiveMeSport claim Gray ‘has no interest’ in a temporary move away from north London despite finding minutes hard to come by.

Gray left Leeds for Tottenham in a £40million deal over the summer but has enjoyed nothing like the regular football he did in his breakout campaign at Elland Road, with his five Premier League appearances all coming from the bench and totalling just 46 minutes - less than Djed Spence. Six starts have come between the Europa League and Carabao Cup, with the versatile youngster deployed at right-back, left-back or in central midfield.

Some reports have suggested the 18-year-old could leave on loan part-way through the campaign in a bid to boost his minutes but this most recent report looks to have poured cold water on those claims. Gray is thought to be keen on earning the trust of Ange Postecoglou and is aiming for a breakthrough 2025 with his new club.

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Bellingham exit links

Sunderland could face an anxious January with reports linking a number of their first-team stars with mid-season moves. Jobe Bellingham is the latest to attract interest with journalist Alan Nixon reporting he is on the radar of his brother’s former team, Borussia Dortmund.

Bellingham has been excellent this season and the fact Sunderland have dropped four points in his two-game absence through suspension indicates his importance at the Stadium of Light. But Dortmund believe the attacking midfielder is ready to step into a top European League and could be ready to fork out more than £20m for his signature in a couple of months.

There is also top-flight interest in another of their young stars, Chris Rigg, with recent reports claiming Crystal Palace could look to sign the 17-year-old in January. Any first-team exits would provide a major blow for Sunderland, who look set to challenge Leeds for automatic promotion.