Tottenham confirmed the signing of highly-rated youngster Archie Gray from Leeds United, but how could the midfielder perform in his first season for Spurs?
Ange Postecoglou has begun shaping his squad ahead of his second season as Spurs manager, with Leeds midfielder Gray being unveiled as a Spurs player. The 18-year-old has made the move to the Lilywhites for a fee between £25million and £30million, with Joe Rodon also joining Leeds in return.
Gray looked set for a switch to Brentford last week, but the deal collapsed after Spurs hijacked the move, with the Englishman signing a six-year deal with Postecoglou's side. Gray was a key player for Leeds in the Championship last season, making 52 appearances across all competitions as both a midfielder and a right-back.
So, how could Gray perform for Spurs in the 2024/25 season? Let's take a look.
Tottenham's 2024/25 season simulated with Archie Gray
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to move Gray to Spurs in the summer transfer window for £30million, with Joe Rodon heading to Leeds. We then simulated the 2024/25 season, and this is how the 18-year-old performed for Postecoglou's side.
Gray's potential is there for all to see, but it may come as a surprise to see just how good he was in his first season in the simulation. Postecoglou threw the midfielder into the mix from the go, and he was immense, quickly becoming one of Spurs' most important players.
Across all competitions, Gray made 44 appearances for Spurs, scoring once and assisting 11 goals in that time. He was primarily deployed as a midfielder, but the 18-year-old covered for Pedro Porro multiple times across the season. His average rating per game was most impressive, with only Cristian Romero (7.42) averaging a higher rating per game than Gray (7.39), who was the best midfielder at the club.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Football Manager 2024 put together an overall best Spurs XI, based on performances, statistics, and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Spurs best XI: (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Gray, Sarr; Maddison, Kulusevski, Richarlison; Son.
After his tremendous debut campaign, Gray made the Spurs best XI, starting alongside Pape Matar Sarr in the midfield pivot. James Maddison played on the right wing while Dejan Kulusevski was deployed as an attacking midfielder, and Richarlison also made the best XI, but on the left wing rather than up top.
With Gray in the side, Spurs improved in the Premier League, with Postecolgou's side involved in a top-four battle all season long. Two defeats in their final five games made things slightly tighter than they should've been, but it all worked out ok as Spurs finished fourth.
Unfortunately for Spurs, Gray's arrival couldn't help them win a trophy, with the Lilywhites going another season without silverware. The closest they came to success came in the FA Cup, but a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in the semi-finals saw them knocked out of the competition. Their Carabao Cup journey ended in the fourth round after a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace, and Postecolgou's side were poor in the Europa League, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Monaco in the Round of 16.
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