Archie Gray has broken his silence on his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer and has moved to dispel myths that he was forced to leave by Leeds United after listing the two biggest factors behind his £40m transfer earlier this month.
The teenage star enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough campaign in the 2023/24 season as Leeds United twice narrowly missed out on an instant return to the Premier League, with their 90-point tally not enough to secure automatic promotion and then with the Whites failing to give a true account of themselves in the play-off final against Southampton at Wembley.
As the dust settled on their failure to reclaim a place among the elite, it soon became evident that Leeds would need to secure a big sale by the end of June to appease strick Profit and Sustainability Rules. And while interest from numerous clubs in the likes of Georginio Rutter, Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto failed to see a deal materialise, it soon became apparent that they would be able to sell teenage star Gray.
Indeed, with Brentford initially given permission to discuss his signing, it was Tottenham who eventually swooped in to sign the teenager in a deal which would break records and easily make Gray one one of the top 10 most expensive teenagers in world football.
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At the time of the move, it was widely reported that Gray’s sale came against the teenager’s will and that he was simply told by Leeds he would have to leave to help balance the books and ensure they did not incur a points penalty.
Archie Gray: Teenager sets record straight over move from Leeds to Tottenham
And while there is still an element of truth in the sale coming , Gray has now spoken out while on tour with his new club on their tour of the Far East, with the teenager quick to set the record straight over the reasons behind the £40m move in a chat with Football.London.
“At the start of the window I didn’t really know anything about [a potential transfer anywhere] and I was content to stay at Leeds, but as soon as I heard Tottenham were coming in I was like ‘I need to go there’,” Gray said.
“It’s a huge club and my dad [former Leeds player, Andy Gray] said that too. He came to my room one morning and said ‘look, you’ve got to go to Spurs. It’s a massive club’.
“My grandad [former Leeds star, Frank Gray] was saying it as well, he’s obviously done pretty well in his career, and he said at some point you’ve got to go to one of the biggest clubs in England and he thinks now is the right time and he thinks Spurs is a massive club as well.
“So, with people who have been advising me my whole life, I have to listen to them and I also wanted to do it too, so that was definitely a massive thing and since then I’ve enjoyed every second of it. So, definitely happy that I made that decision.”
Gray also claims Ange Postecoglou was a major factor in securing the move with his family also big Celtic supporters and with the Australian something of a heralded figure in their household for the work he did previously at Parkhead.
“It was just really positive and most of it was football, but he was getting to know what I was like as a person,” said the teenager. “Hopefully I came across really well but it’s a massive factor that the manager’s here and I’ve been following him for a while, since he was at Celtic and one of my U21 managers went to the Australian league so even since then I’ve been following him so, yeah, he’s a massive factor.”
Gray added: “Obviously I’ve got a Leeds family and I support them too, but yeah my grandad and dad played for Scotland and supported Celtic. When Ange was there I enjoyed watching them and I still do now.”
Joe Rodon, Son Heung-min influence in Gray transfer
Gray formed a close bond with Joe Rodon while the pair were at Leeds United together, with the latter spending the season on loan with the Whites before finalising a permanent £10m transfer this summer on the same day Gray’s move the other way was completed.
And Gray has revealed that Rodon asked Tottenham captain Son Heung-min to look out for the teenager in his early days at Spurs and to help him settle in.
“I’m really enjoying it and everyone’s been brilliant with me so far. I wouldn’t say I’m the hardest guy to get along with, I’m pretty laid back and pretty easy to speak to, but everyone’s been amazing with me and I’m enjoying the first few weeks,” he said.
Revealing Son’s role, Gray added: “On the pitch and off the pitch, he’s been helping me, it’s just little things. He is really good friends with Joe Rodon and last year when Joe was at Leeds I was probably the closest with Joe when he joined and I think when I came here Joe told Sonny to look after me a little bit,” he said. “He’s making me feel really welcome and just with little things like helping me speak to everyone and helping me into the group.”
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Naming his two favourite Tottenham players as a boy as Gareth Bale and Harry Kane, Gray spoke highly of Son too and admits he feels fortunate to play in the same side as the South Korea icon.
“There’s nothing that he could improve on. Every day he sets the standard in training and I look up to him and I feel like I’m lucky to have a player like that in the team and for him to be captain is just incredible,” Gray commented.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. You know his quality in games, he’s been showing it for 10 years now and internationally he’s been amazing. I don’t usually like speaking that highly of people in the same team as me, because it feels weird, but he’s incredible.”