New Tottenham Hotspur signing Archie Gray has now started as a centre-back in all three of the club’s pre-season outings thus far.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are now three wins from three after beating Vissel Kobe 3-2 on Saturday thanks to a late effort by young talent Mikey Moore.
The forward has impressed in his minutes alongside the likes of Gray, Jamie Donley and Lucas Bergvall.
And it’s clear that Postecoglou has an excellent crop of youngsters at the club, adding to his Premier League 2 winners with two new signings.
That being said, after signing Archie Gray earlier in the month, a lot of Spurs fans are now itching for the club to make further progress.
Many have been disappointed that the club hasn’t kept up that momentum by adding a new forward for example.
Postecoglou is thought to have asked Tottenham’s transfer team to sign a new wide attacker before the season begins, someone who is also comfortable in central positions.
But judging by Gray’s words, perhaps Spurs already have everything they need in captain Son Heung-min.
Archie Gray says Tottenham captain Son Heung-Min has been an ‘amazing’ example
Speaking to football.london during Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Asia, Gray celebrated the role Son had played since he arrived, saying he had been a brilliant role model in training.
The youngster admitted that it felt odd to praise a player so strongly that he’s still playing alongside, but couldn’t help but praise the £22m winger.
have a player like that in the team and for him to be captain is just incredible.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. You know his quality in games, he’s been showing it for ten years now and internationally he’s been amazing.
“I don’t usually like speaking that highly of people in the same team as me, because it feels weird, but he’s incredible.”
Evidently someone that Gray is looking forward to playing alongside at Tottenham next season.
Although all of Gray’s pre-season minutes have come as a centre-back, it would be incredibly surprising if he didn’t start as a midfielder when the Premier League begins.
All that being said, Lucas Bergvall was left stunned by one Tottenham teammate after the 3-2 win against Vissel Kobe.
Archie Gray has issued his verdict on his first training session on the grass at Tottenham Hotspur following his summer move to Ange Postecoglou’s side.
There is a lot of intrigue surrounding Archie Gray following his move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Leeds United in the early stages of the summer transfer window. There is absolutely no question that he was one of the most outstanding talents in the Championship last year, and Spurs have spent a hefty sum to secure his signature.
But he is an unknown quantity at Premier League level, and he is still only 18 years of age, so many will be expecting Ange Postecoglou to take his time introducing the versatile midfielder into his side.
Gray has now had a taste of what is to come, having been involved in the first couple of training sessions at Hotspur Way at the start of pre-season, with the second day seeing the players get back out onto the grass.
Archie Gray reacts to first Tottenham training session on the grass
As shown by the club’s media channels, the players took part in a number of drills, with Postecoglou and his staff working on their very specific patterns of play. And at the end of the video, Gray shared his verdict on the session.
“Ever since I signed, I couldn’t wait to get started, and I can’t wait to train again more. The first session today, it was brilliant and I really enjoyed it, I just can’t wait to train again,” he said.
Youngster’s progress is going to be fascinating to track
Gray, of course, worked under Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road, so he will probably not be surprised by a lot of what he sees after making the move to Tottenham.
There are a handful of similarities in the way Bielsa and Postecoglou want their teams to play, but they are also both coaches who seem to have an ability to transform their sides with the work they do on the training pitch – even if the players themselves do not initially realise it.
If Postecoglou’s methods do click for Gray, then Tottenham clearly have such a special talent in their squad. So it will be fascinating to see how he develops over the next few weeks ahead of the new Premier League season.
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