Three Leeds United players who could follow Harry Gray transfer path this month with loan exit close
Leeds United are close to signing off one January loan exit and others could benefit from a similar move.
Leeds United could confirm their first exit of the January transfer window soon with Harry Gray set to join Rotherham United on loan.
The YEP exclusively reported on Gray’s imminent loan exit on Tuesday evening, with the 17-year-old on course to drop into a League One relegation scrap at the New York Stadium. Leeds believe regular football is of the utmost importance for their teenage star while Rotherham’s close proximity will allow him to stay near family.
While fan focus is on potential January incomings, Elland Road chiefs need to work both ways and Gray could be followed out the temporary exit door before the February 2 deadline. Below, the YEP explores three other Leeds players who could be sent out on loan this month.
Jack Harrison
Having returned from two season-long loans at Everton in the summer, Harrison has failed to work his way into the first-team picture at Leeds. The 29-year-old’s only Premier League start came at Burnley in October amid a winger injury crisis and since then, he’s played just 69 minutes of Premier League football.
Harrison failed to impress when handed a rare start in Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Derby County and that could prove his final appearance for the Whites, with Leeds in talks over a loan exit. The YEP reported on Tuesday that Fiorentina look set to take the winger on board for the remainder of the campaign, with details still being finalised.
Unlike Gray, Harrison’s mid-season move could precede a permanent summer exit with reports from Italy suggesting Fiorentina will have an option to buy. Fabrizio Romano reported that option will be worth around £8.7million, which would see Leeds bank a profit in terms of PSR, having paid most - if not all - of their winger’s £11m transfer fee from 2021.
Charlie Crew
Leeds sent Crew back out on loan to Doncaster Rovers for a second year in the summer, following his impressive contribution towards a 2024/25 League Two promotion triumph. But in League One, and with a trio of international breaks hampering his club-level rhythm, the midfielder’s season-long switch was cut short at the start of January.
The 19-year-old is unlikely to find himself in Farke’s first-team plans any time soon and having got a taste of senior football with Doncaster, dropping back into the Under-21s might feel like a backwards step. Crew is also on the fringes of Wales’ senior international set up and will want to keep himself in the mind of head coach Craig Bellamy.
Another loan switch could therefore benefit all parties and the young Welshman is unlikely to be short of suitors, either in League One or the top end of League Two. Like Gray, Leeds will be keen for their promising midfielder to keep playing regular football elsewhere.
Sam Chambers
Chambers was the sole academy prospect named on the substitute's bench at Derby last weekend and while he never came on, experience of a first-team matchday process will prove valuable. The 18-year-old has endured a difficult 12 months with illness and injury, returning from a three-month absence for Scott Gardner’s young Whites in October.
Like Gray, Chambers enjoyed some first-team minutes during last season’s Championship promotion push but with survival the new goal and experience needed, those opportunities haven’t been forthcoming in the Premier League. Furthermore, Farke’s switch to a 3-5-2 has reduced the need for natural wingers, further complicating the path to senior involvement.
The main consideration for Leeds is Chambers’ physical fitness, with a loan switch to the EFL potentially placing too much pressure on a teenager who has struggled to play youth football regularly for several months. But if the medical staff feel it’s possible, a six-month loan elsewhere could offer first-team opportunities.