Tottenham youngster Archie Gray hails Steven Gerrard and Jude Bellingham as midfield role models

Tottenham youngster Archie Gray hails Steven Gerrard and Jude Bellingham as midfield role models - 'He could do everything'

Published 03/10/2025 at 17:45 GMT+1

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Archie Gray has revealed he modelled his game on Steven Gerrard, and said he also looks up to Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. Gray burst through at Spurs last season, playing most of his minutes in defence, at both full-back and centre-back. The 19-year-old spoke while visiting students as part of the Spurs Football Development Programme.

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Tottenham midfielder Archie Gray has revealed he modelled his play-style on Liverpool great Steven Gerrard.

Gray, who joined Tottenham in 2024 from Leeds United, had little time to shine in his favoured role in the centre of the pitch due to Spurs' lengthy injury crisis last season.

Despite that, he impressed with his willingness to step up and play across the defence, including playing at centre-back. Under Thomas Frank, however, Gray has already started in midfield twice.

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When asked which player he wanted to model his game on as a youngster, Gray said: "That’s a tough one.

"When I was younger, if I was going to say a midfielder, I’d always probably say Steven Gerrard. He’s what I would want to be in a midfielder – he could do everything, no matter what it was.

"He could pass, he could tackle, he could shoot, he could do everything on a football pitch, and for a midfielder – I think I’m best when I’m doing every part of the game – I think that’s one player that I could look up to.

"He’s just a role model and, obviously, people in today’s game like Jude Bellingham, especially him as a midfielder, he’s such a good role model to young people and all players, to be fair."

Gray taking part in Spurs Football Development Programme.

Image credit: Getty Images

Gray took time out of training during the week to take part in one of the club's development programmes - the Spurs Football Development Programme.

He spoke to a group of students from Culford School, one of Spurs' football development partners, and reflected on his own time as an academy player.

"It is so good to speak to these young players as it reminds me of my days as a kid, asking so many questions and just being eager to learn as much as possible.

"When I was younger, we used to have first team players from Leeds come and offer advice to the youngsters, so hopefully I was able to have the same impact with this group."

The 19-year-old could be in line to feature this weekend when he returns to Elland Road for Spurs' clash with Leeds on Saturday at 12:30 UK time.

Gray's homecoming - shown live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ - comes on the back of successive draws, to Wolves and Bodo/Glimt, in which the equalisers arrived in the 94th and 89th minute respectively.

"I can’t wait," Gray said. "That’s my home city, that’s where I’ve been raised and I’ve got so much love for Leeds, but I’m playing for Tottenham now. We’ve obviously got a job to do at the weekend and we’re looking forward to that.

"We’ve definitely had a positive start to the season. These last two results, they haven’t been what we’d been hoping for, but that’s football - you can’t win every game, you’re going to have some draws along the way.

"I think it’s important that we didn’t lose those games; that just shows our mentality, especially coming back late in all those games. Football doesn’t always go the way you want it to go and to be able to come back in those games – obviously, we want to win them and we believe in ourselves – but I think it’s been a solid start to the season and we’re definitely hoping to carry that on."

Highlights: Spurs fight back to earn dramatic draw at Bodo/Glimt

Video credit: TNT Sports

Frank's side are forming a penchant for saving games late, and Gray believes that is a reflection of the squad's overall resilience.

"I think that’s always been a part of this group. We’ve got a strong group, whether that’s in the starting XI or whether it’s on the bench. Everyone just sticks together.

"The most important thing is the manager tells us to always stay in the game no matter what, always sprint back if there’s a counter-attack and always stay in the game, because in football you never know what’s going to happen and always keep fighting until the last minute, which is what we’ve been doing. We’ve been able to get a few goals in the last few minutes of games, so it’s been good for us so far."

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