Ex-Leeds United ace Gray has been one of few Tottenham players who have kept their levels high amidst a horrid season
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has ring-fenced Leeds United academy graduate Archie Gray as a future captain of Spurs.
The Italian has only worked with the 20-year-old for just over a month but has sung the praises of the Thorp Arch talent, who played the first two games under his tutelage but has remained on the bench for the recent back-to-back wins.
Gray travelled to meet former club Leeds, whom he left for around £30m in 2024, for the first time in October’s 2-1 win for Spurs at Elland Road albeiot did not get onto the pitch. Having not had chance to bid a proper farewell to Whites supporters upon his exit, he did a lap of honour after full time.
Gray has already racked up 80 appearances for Tottenham having been used as a utility player across many positions including centre-back, right-back, midfield and wing-back. De Zerbi is the fourth Spurs manager he has worked under, having not yet completed two years at the club.
The new Spurs boss has high praise for Gray, stating ahead of Monday’s meeting with Leeds: “He is very young, (but) big potential as a player. I think he can become the future.
“I am sure he can become the future of this club, the captain of this club and he has to understand better what will be his position on the pitch. He can play in a lot of positions, but maybe I would like him to be more specific in one position.
“We are working on that, in individual meetings with individual clips for me and any way he is an important player.”
Gray is naturally a midfielder and De Zerbi’s recognition of this maye be partly the reason why he has not been played in the last two matches. The coach is meanwhile keen not to under-estimate Leeds and pinpointed four players, some of whom are midfielders, who have caught his eye.
He added of United: “Their style is very clear. They have a great organisation on the pitch, with the ball and without the ball. They have good players, [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin, [Noah] Okafor, [Ao] Tanaka, I think, and [Ethan] Ampadu are all very good players.
“Not to fight against relegation, but at a higher level. But the focus is on us. Not because we become arrogant, but because we have the quality. The quality is enough if we play like we know, like we can, to win the game, for sure.”