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The Leeds United academy graduate claimed major silverware last week to cap off a rollercoaster debut campaign at Spurs.
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Archie Gray has praised boyhood club Leeds United for ensuring he developed a keen knowledge of multiple positions - a strength which has really come to the fore in his two years of senior football.
Gray is a central midfielder by trade but in a season each at Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur, he’s barely played there. The 19-year-old got his break at right-back under Daniel Farke and emerged as one of the Championship’s hottest young prospects during a 2023/24 campaign that ultimately ended in play-off final heartbreak.
A £40million move to Spurs followed and Gray’s versatility has been tested even further since, with the Thorp Arch academy graduate spending much of his debut Premier League campaign at centre-back, owing to a defensive injury crisis in north London. He was also pushed to left-back on occasion with the vast majority of his 19 top-flight starts coming away from midfield.
But Gray took to right-back like a duck to water at Leeds and despite enduring a much tougher campaign at Spurs, the teenager is now a Europa League champion following last week’s win over Manchester United. He was at teammate James Maddison’s annual charity golf day on Tuesday and acknowledged the work Thorp Arch coaches did in providing experience across multiple roles.
Archie Gray praises Leeds United work after Spurs success
“For everyone, the fans, it’s been a season worthwhile, 100%,” Gray told Sky Sports after a round of 18 he admitted didn’t go too well. “I’ve enjoyed this year so much. You know, it’s provided me with so much and so much different experience than what I thought I was going to get.
“And I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the manager trusting me in so many different positions. All these different things you get experience for. Wherever I’m put on the pitch I’ll try to do the same job, just give 100%, and that’s a thing Leeds do really well with all their young players.
“They always put them in every position on the pitch, so I think that provided me with a good base for playing in these different positions. So, I’m not going out there never playing in them.”
Last week’s Europa League win was Spurs’ first major trophy since 2008 and gave Ange Postecoglou’s side a positive ending to an otherwise difficult campaign. The north London side finished 17th in the Premier League and could well have been in a relegation scrap, were the bottom three not so poor.
It’s been a challenge for Gray too, who will look back on his debut Premier League campaign as a huge learning experience. But in just his second season of senior football, the teenager now has a Europa League winners’ medal, although he won’t be keeping it close, instead opting to keep it at his family home in North Yorkshire in hope of inspiring his younger brothers, including 16-year-old Leeds striker Harry.
"I'm not sure [where I’ll keep the medal],” he said. “I think I might give it to my little brothers at home, so they can look up to it a little bit. Hopefully it will make them work a bit harder.”
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