Why Archie Gray Is The Perfect Signing For Spurs
“”He is, without any doubt, one of the biggest talents in his age group in this country,” “
Daniel Farke, Leeds United Manager.
There’s no hiding the fact that Archie Gray has been one of the most exciting talents in both the English setup and within Leeds United for many years. One might wonder, however: How can that be possible with the player being only 18 years old?
After training with the senior squad and appearing on the bench with the first team under Marcelo Bielsa at the age of 15, Archie Gray finally broke his way into the first team at just the age of 18 this season under Daniel Farke, making his first start in the opening game of the season against Cardiff, before going on to make 40 more starts as a key fixture across the entire league season, an unprecedented amount for such a young player in a title-challenging team!
So, to be this important for the first team despite your young age, you’ve got to have something special, right?
The Perfect Rotation Option
It’s a known fact that Postecoglou has been looking for signings who can cover multiple positions this transfer season, with “versatility” being the keyword in Spurs business, and that is exactly what Gray offers!
At youth level, Gray was most commonly used as a midfielder, a central midfielder, a defensive midfielder, or an attacking midfielder, yet his real versatility shined the most this season when he was asked to play right-back due to a string of injuries and a lack of depth in the Leeds squad.
Sure, it is agreed that Gray’s best position is in midfield, but still, the Leeds defensive injury crisis that forced Gray to play as a fullback proved that the young player is capable of performing in different positions.
At just 18 and in his first competitive season, Gray played 30 out of 52 games out of position and as a fullback. Still, the youngster impressed, proving to be more than a competent 1-on-1 defender, with an average success rate of 60% in defensive duels won per 90 and seven successful defensive actions per 90.
These two stats are made more impressive by the fact that the 18-year-old played a significant amount of minutes compared to other fullbacks in the championship, with only former Tottenham academy player Kyle Walker-Peters and two others playing more minutes than the Leeds United man.
Adding to these impressive stats, Gray is also more than competent when faced with the threat of players bombing down his right-hand side. He has challenged an impressive number of Dribblers, which ranks him among the best fullbacks in the championship.
Gray faced a number of impressive wingers in the championship last season, including the likes of Stephy Mavididi and Jamal Lowe. Despite that, he managed to shut them down successfully.
But why is Gray so successful in his 1-on-1 duel despite his less-than-extraordinary build? Archie is extremely physical and loves to be aggressive and put in tackles, a trait that can more often than not see him draw fouls, but is this a bad thing?
Spurs have never shied away from aggression in their ranks, with the likes of Cristian Romero being among the most aggressive players in the league. Yet despite his aggression, Gray has never actually been red-carded in his career before.
Why? Well, while Gray can be aggressive, he also knows how to be disciplined and knows when to stick a harsh tackle in and when to back out, a trait that is rare for such a young player. However, his real standout trait is one that will make him a crucial signing for Tottenham Hotspur.
During his stint at right back for Leeds last season, the Spurs youngster often inverted into the midfield from right back to impact the game from midfield. One of Postecoglou’s most famous tactics is utilising his fullbacks as midfielders. This means this trait is not one that will have to be instilled in the player, as he already has a significant amount of experience playing that role despite only being 18 years old.
The Durham Pirlo
In his experience as a right-back, the England U21 international managed to develop his defensive side of the game, and he would suit a team like Tottenham, who play with inverted right-backs extremely well.
However, there might be one problem. Spurs already have a mainstay at right back in Pedro Porro, and with the club spending upwards of £40 million on the Englishman, they’ll be expecting to get their worth out of him.
So, while this ability to play as an inverting right-back will serve as a great cover for Pedro Porro, Gray will most likely be played as part of a midfield trio alongside James Maddison and Sarr.
Spurs will be looking for a player who is excellent with the ball at his feet to serve their possession-based game, right? It’s extremely evident that Archie Gray is a fantastic passer of the ball, with the English midfielder holding a significantly high pass completion rate in all areas of the pitch, making his passing ability one of the best in the Championship.
Here, we can see a snippet of his passing ability in the final third, so let us break down for you why this play is so impressive! In our first frame, we can see the Leeds Academy graduate scanning the pitch for his best option, spotting the run of Wilifred Gnoto. But rather than playing the short, easier option, the midfielder does something much more impressive.
Here you can see him drag the ball back, which may look like nothing, but what he’s doing here is drawing the defenders onto him, allowing Gnoto to cut through the defence with ease.
This movement allowed Gray the opportunity to play a fantastic pass right into the path of Gnonto, under the pressure of 3 defenders, resulting in an assist for the player.
But is that the 18-year-old’s only passing range? Absolutely not, as we showed earlier, Gray has the rare ability to play perfect medium-range passes, short passes, long passes, and passes into the final third, here’s another snippet of his long passing.
You can see in the first frame that Gray spots the space in front of him and scans it to spot the perfect pass to play.
Following that, he plays a picture-perfect diagonal into the attacker’s path.
These are just two examples of Gray’s excellent ability to pass from all areas! This makes him a threat no matter what position he plays in, meaning he could fill the role of a defensive midfielder, an 8, or even the role of James Maddison for Tottenham.
The Modern Midfielder
Carrying is another ability midfielders need these days. This ability to progress the ball without losing it allows them to provide an extra source of threat by breaking the opposition’s defensive line and even carrying the ball into the final third and the penalty box.
So, how is the player when it comes to this?
His carrying ability is just as strong as his passing, with the English midfielder ranking amongst the best in the championship for both Progressive Carries and successful take-ons, but why is that?
The Durham born midfielder’s ability to hold onto the ball makes him a consistent threat. Just take his performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup as an example, a performance that saw him win man of the match against a billion-pound side at just 18 years old.
Here, you can see how good Archie Gray is under pressure! Despite being chased by Chelsea’s midfielder, his teammates had confidence in his ability to retain the ball under pressure!
And so, upon receiving the pass, Gray drove past Chelsea’s midfield with ease, leaving the likes of Chelsea’s 100 million pound marquee signing, Moises Caicedo, behind.
This was one moment within a dozen where he dominated the multi-million-pound Chelsea midfield during that match, and it was just a small sample of hundreds throughout the 18-year-old’s season!
Archie Gray has all the traits to be a world-class midfielder, and while we talked about his defending earlier as a fullback, let’s see if he’s also good at that while playing as a midfielder!
We said the youngster is versatile. He can play as an eight or a ten, but the biggest challenge is: Can he play as a number six akin to Yves Bissouma? Well, the former Leeds man has some of the attributes that could make him one of the best defensive midfielders in the league, if not the world, here’s why!
We’ve already shown that he is practically press-resistant and extremely good on the ball. He’s also a great progressor of the ball through his passing. But to be a good defensive midfielder, you need to be good at defending! After all, defending central areas is much tougher than defending with the touchline on your side, limiting the opposition!
Defensively, Spurs could potentially have signed a player with the potential to be one of the most physically dominant players in the game!
Akin to the likes of Casemiro and Sergio Busquets, the Englishman excels at being a ball-winner. The Leeds United midfielder is one of the most defensively dominant players in the league, with a high percentile of tackles won in both the defensive and attacking third, the highest number of dribblers challenged in the league, as we mentioned earlier, and the highest number of defensive actions leading to a goal in the league.
All of this at just 18 years old? That is absolutely unprecedented and never heard of before, and with his entire career ahead of him, he will only further develop into the dominant midfielder he’s already becoming.
To sum up, Archie Gray is fantastic with the ball and has great passing ability in all areas of the park. Contrary to the popular belief that this type of player is not able to be physically dominant,he proves to be an exception. His involvement in Leeds United’s defence title charge at just 18 proves he’s surely ready to make the step up to a higher level.
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