Tottenham Hotspur center midfielder Archie Gray has all the tools to become one of the best in the world in his position, and Spurs fans saw that much at the end of the campaign when the England youth international showed great confidence, quality on the ball, bravery, and expertise in possession even when literally everything was falling apart around him under both Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
But because Roberto De Zerbi leaned so much on the veteran players, including midfielders like Conor Gallagher and Rodrigo Bentancur whom Gray was running circles around, there has been some concern that maybe Gray is not valued as he should be.
De Zerbi, though, said months ago that he is a big fan of Gray, and he showed it again, praising the young midfielder highly after another excellent performance, bossing the pitch and creating a goal with his passing in a 2-0 friendly match win over Auckland FC.
Archie Gray is making his mark
The Italian manager said of Archie Gray, via Hotspur Lane, “Yes, Archie is young, but he's an old player, as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience, as a career.”
Recently, Roberto De Zerbi spoke about how he views young players but that it is not their age and how they play that decides whether or not they are key to his plans, and not but a day later, Gray heard his message loud and clear and got this response back from the manager.
Tottenham Hotspur turned heads around the footballing world by signing both Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes this summer transfer window for a combined 185 million pounds. With those two players being relatively young, especially Fernandes, and very expensive, everyone knows De Zerbi signed them to start them immediately.
But because the Premier League season, even without European football, is so grueling plus with two cup tournaments, as Tottenham fans can attest as well as anyone with all the injuries they have sustained over the past two seasons, it is vital to have great squad depth. And De Zerbi has already spoken about how the talents at the club will be able to get important minutes because of this.
Gray is an old soul, and De Zerbi loves those old souls in the midfield who can dictate the play, create chances, and show real courage on the ball. He is making his mark on the manager, which is huge so close to the new season.
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