Former Leeds United standout Archie Gray has joined the growing trend in football where 17- and 18-year-olds step into the first-team team and thrive. While the teenager has worked to take these impressive steps, former Leed manager Marcelo Bielsa played a role in his emergence.
Last season, Gray made 52 appearances for Leeds, providing two assists. Despite his age, he showed impressive versatility, stepping in as a right-back and filling various midfield roles throughout the campaign.
Leeds sold their potential budding star to Tottenham Hotspur during the summer transfer window for a reported £30 million. Spurs secured a standout who only scratched the ceiling of his potential.
Marcelo Bielsa’s role in Archie Gray’s development
Archie’s father, Andy Gray, recalled how former Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa laid the foundation for the player’s development, which would help him flourish at such a young age. Andy noted that the ball got rolling when the Argentine boss had to include Archie on the bench because he had 10 first-team players out.
“He was 14 or 15, I think he had a bit of a growth spurt during that time,” Andy told Sky Sports. “Then when he came back in, he’d grown a lot physically. That’s when Bielsa put him into training with the first team. Things kicked on really quickly from then…
“Experiencing that as your first manager when you’re 15 years old, the intensity of his training and how he worked was an unbelievable thing for the rest of his career. He looks back on that now fondly, because it was tough, but it was all that he ever knew at the time. Those murder ball sessions, that was his first experience of professional football. Anything else after that is probably a little bit easier.”
Moreover, Andy also reflected on his son Archie’s short first-team tenure at Leeds now that the player has moved on to Tottenham.
“It was great to see him play for Leeds,” Andy said. ” I was very nervous at first, obviously being a Leeds supporter as well. It’s hard to detach yourself from being a supporter and a parent at the same time. Obviously it ended in tears at Wembley, but those are memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
