THE very best young players aren't defined purely on talent alone these days.
Something else sets them apart from their contemporaries.
It was brought into sharp focus by Harry Kane's recent elevation to Ballon d'Or winner amid a glittering ceremony in his home city of London.
Kane's staggering goalscoring numbers and consistency speaks for itself, but it hardly happened overnight.
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What sets him apart is his elite mentality from an early age. 'Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise' was his social media post after being named as the best footballer in the world.
For all his trappings and status, no one could ever describe him as narcissistic.
That message might just resonate with two players on opposing sides today: Archie Gray and James Trafford.
The former, of course, is well known to Leeds United supporters. In an ideal world, he will still be stepping out in the white of Leeds and not Tottenham Hotspur.
It's hard to believe that Gray is still not yet 21 - that milestone arrives in March.
He is part-way through his third season in the Premier League and fourth campaign as a first-teamer. He is not far shy of 150 competitive games already in a career which is surely only going one way.
Capable of playing centre-back, full-back and midfield, he is a manager's dream. Tactically adept, responsible and mature beyond his years, it's easy to see that he belongs to a revered football dynasty.
He is also driven, football-obsessed and low-maintenance. The sort of person - and not just player - that Daniel Farke likes. Even if he will not be wanting to see any of his acumen today.
Farke said: "It was early to see (his elite mentality). When Archie came through at the age of 17, he replaced my vice-captain and our club legend Luke Ayling.
"It was not an easy decision. It was not for the dressing room. I came in as the new coach and I've got a club legend. Together with Liam Cooper, he was wearing the captain's armband.
"But he was on the bench because I played Archie, a 17-year-old kid. But Archie had already at this age more or less this mentality and the quality. He was a different drawer (top-drawer).
"The same when I played him in midfield - you had experienced players like Glen Kamara, for example, out for his position. But just due to the quality and mentality that (Gray) he had meant he was ready and prepared to play on a Championship level.
"I think he has also sometimes worn the captain's armband for Tottenham at a more prominent level.
"It says a lot about him and you need this quality and mentality if you want to be there as a young player playing so many games on this level."
As with Kane, Gray has had to handle knockbacks - being part of a Spurs side that has flirted with relegation in the past few seasons. It's something that Leeds and England goalkeeper Trafford also knows a fair bit about.
The 24-year-old heads into the game on the back of a howler in last weekend's loss to Bournemouth - gifting a goal to Cherries player Evanilson.
He was also culpable—though by no means as damningly - for Riccardo Calafiori's goal in United's 2-1 reverse at Arsenal on October 10.
Mistakes are - and will forever remain - an omnipresent part of a goalkeeper's life.
Trafford also currently has the best save percentage in the Premier League at 80.5. Only Hull City's Konstantinos Tzolakis - with 32 saves - has stopped more shots so far this term.
So the Cumbrian, from a humble farming roots near Cockermouth, has plenty to shout about if he cares to. Which he doesn't.
Farke said: "He's really top. James has delivered top performances for us so far.
"He was, of course, involved in the first goal (at Bournemouth) and sadly in this case it was then decisive, but that's also what you have to deal with, especially as a young player and young goalkeeper.
"You deal with these setbacks and learn from them and it's quite important for me that he didn't look shy of confidence during this week.
"He was there with his normal performance. I'm pretty sure he has also learned from it, but for me it's also important that he doesn't lose his confidence and his rhythm. Of course, he will be in goal and also hopefully with an important display."
Speaking of statistics, Leeds head into the game in receipt of an unwanted Premier League record: they have not won a top-flight game played before 3pm on a Saturday in 21 attempts since March 2022.
Ending that statistic would be a nice way to head into an international break, not that Farke is losing any sleep over it.
"I wouldn't take too much into the timing', the German opined.
"I think it's also normal. In the last years we were on Premier League level, we've spent more or less all the time in the relegation pattern, so it's less likely to win games in comparison to Man City or Liverpool or Arsenal right now. It's another chance to break the record, it's important to be switched on."
