Archie Gray breaking into the Leeds United team as a teenager seemed remarkable to some outsiders. It came as little surprise to those that follow the Yorkshire outfit, though. Gray was pretty much born to play for Leeds and had been on the books of the club since the age of eight.
The sad thing now from the supporters’ perspective is that the latest member of a footballing family steeped in the traditions of Leeds United is now almost certain to leave Elland Road, less than four months after turning 18.
Indeed, on Monday, it was revealed that Tottenham were close to signing Gray from the Championship outfit , who desperately need to balance the books after failing to secure an immediate return to the Premier League last season.
So, who is teenage sensation with the impeccable Leeds lineage? And just how far could he go in the game? Footballblogzz breaks it all down below…
Where it all began
To say that Gray comes from good footballing stock would be a massive understatement; it’s more like a Leeds United dynasty. He is the fourth Gray across three generations to represent the club. His great-uncle Eddie is a legend at Elland Road, while his grand-father Frank, and his dad Andy all lined out for Leeds.
Gray admitted in a recent interview with Eddie on Leeds’ Youtube channel that “I always had to live up to [the family name]. But my grandad, you (Eddie) and especially my Dad have been very good with me.
“I’ve also got lucky with the players that I’ve been able to watch, the players I’ve grown up with and the coaches I’ve had. But yeah, my Dad makes sure I run a lot – even before pre-season.
“So, I always try to make sure I’m the fittest when I come back because I think it sends a message to the manager and his staff that, you know… I’m ready!”
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The big break
Notwithstanding his impressive dedication to his craft, it was clear very early on that the player who joined Leeds as an eight-year-old was a truly special talent. Indeed, by the age of 15, he was already playing for the Under-19s and being touted as a future star by former Leeds sporting director Victor Orta.
“I remember seeing (Sergio) Kun Aguero for the first time and saying ‘Who is this?'” the Spaniard told La Media Inglesa. “It’s happened only a few times to me but Archie gives me the same feeling.”
Coaching icon Marcelo Bielsa was just as taken with Gray, who was named on the Leeds bench five times during the 2021-22 season at a time when he was still studying for his GCSEs.
“Bielsa wanted me to train probably every day,” Gray told The Guardian. “Some weeks I’d be in school two days a week, other times it would be three days. The club and school had to come to an agreement but I passed my exams, so it worked out well.”
He never saw any game time under Bielsa but his mere appearance in the match squad for a Premier League game against Arsenal on December 18, 2021 made headlines in England, marking Gray down as one to watch.
How it’s going
The appointment of Daniel Farke proved a pivotal moment in Gray’s fledgling career, with the German taking over as boss at Elland Road last July and promptly putting the teenager in his starting line-up for the first game of the 2023-24 Championship season, at home to Cardiff.
Farke subsequently admitted that he wasn’t entirely sure just how Gray would cope with the rigours of first-team football at such a young age – but those doubts were quickly dispelled.
“You can’t really predict how it will work out in terms of his body, how he can handle the load, especially in the Championship with such a tough, physical league,” the manager told The Yorkshire Post in February. “But he’s doing excellently. My concerns I had at the beginning of the season have eased up a lot.”
Just how good is Archie Gray!? 🔥
Despite departing the competition, the 17-year-old won the @emirates Player of the Match for @LUFC against Chelsea 🌟#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/ZUQvZJRVpH
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 29, 2024
Farke initially utilised Gray in midfield but he ended up playing most of the season at right-back. However, he was deployed in his preferred position in the FA Cup clash with Chelsea on February 28 and ended up winning Player of the Match – even though Leeds were beaten 3-2 on the night – after wowing all and sundry with his dynamism and composure on the ball.
“I can’t believe he’s 17!” former Arsenal right-back Lee Dixon enthused on ITV. “He just has that look about him that he’s played 300 games!”
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Biggest strengths
Dixon is right: Gray’s composure for one so young is startling.
He is utterly fearless in possession, always looking to help out team-mates by receiving passes in tight spaces and awkward situations, so confident is he that he can manoeuvre his way out of them with his quick feet and deceptive turn of pace. Indeed, it was staggering to see him running rings around Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge, with Gray’s pressure resulting in a turnover from Chelsea’s £115 million ($145m) man that created Leeds’ opener.
This kind of confidence is rare at such a tender age but Farke puts it down to the fact that Gray is as humble a character as you could possibly hope to meet.
“I’ve worked throughout my career with fantastic young players, so I don’t like to compare that much, but it is fantastic what he’s doing,” the 47-year-old told Sky Sports.
“When you are that young and getting that much praise it is not always easy to handle, but he’s so, so grounded and so open to developing and working hard each day.
“The experience in his family helps a lot, and I have to give many compliments to the Gray family. They are doing fantastically well with him.”
Room for improvement
Given Farke’s glowing recommendation, it won’t come as a surprise to learn that Gray is acutely aware that he has an awful lot to learn, particularly as he’s effectively been trying to perfect two very different roles over the past year or so.
“The manager has helped me a lot,” he told his club’s official website after penning a new contract in January, “especially with positioning and little things with what foot to pass to and what foot to receive with. And with the right-back position, he’s helped me loads. I think my game has developed a lot.”
He has also revealed that playing at right-back has broadened his horizons. “It is allowing me to understand the game even more for when I go back into midfield,” he explained to The Guardian.
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The next… James Milner?
Some Leeds fans have seen similarities with Gary McAllister, the classy Scottish midfielder who was integral to the club’s last English title triumph in 1992, while comparisons have also be drawn with Trent Alexander-Arnold, given both are just as comfortable in midfield as they are at right-back.
However, while discussing his game, Gray has previously referenced another player who broke into the Leeds line-up while still only a teenager.
“You see players like James Milner playing different positions every game,” he told The Guardian. “If I become anywhere near as good as him it would be unbelievable.
“I think my best position will be as a box-to-box midfielder but, as the game is changing, you have to be increasingly adaptable.”
What comes next?
The hope was that he would earn promotion to the Premier League with Leeds but, after finishing third in the Championship, his beloved boyhood club suffered the agony of falling at the final hurdle, losing 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley in May.
Leeds’ financial problems, thus, made his sale inevitable. The only question centred over where he would end up. There were links with both Liverpool and Chelsea, but he actually looked set to join Brentford until Tottenham entered the fray.
Spurs afforded a payment plan that was more agreeable to Leeds, meaning Gray is now set to complete a move to north London for a fee somewhere in the region of £30 million ($38m), with Joe Rodon moving in the opposite direction as a sweetener. It should prove a bargain buy.
Gray may have been born to play for Leeds, but he has the requisite talent and temperament to flourish anywhere.
