Archie Gray is not interested in a loan move away from Tottenham despite not getting regular minutes
Tottenham Hotspur were not afraid to splash the cash during the summer, spending more than £120million, and that was highlighted by Dominic Solanke becoming the most expensive signing in the north Londoners’ history.
Archie Gray was also among the fresh faces to arrive at the Hotspur Way ahead of the August transfer deadline, with Spurs taking advantage of Leeds United’s crunch financial situation by agreeing a £30 million deal. Regarded as one of the best young English talents, however, the versatile midfielder has found regular game time hard to come by at his new club under Ange Postecoglou.
While Ange Postecoglou has constantly praised Archie Gray, he hasn’t handed him enough game time. The lack of minutes has resulted in a lot of speculation about the teenage sensation’s future.
Despite failing to get regular minutes under his belt, Gray has no interest in sealing a loan move away from White Hart Lane when the transfer window reopens at the turn of the year. He is stubborn that staying in north London will improve his prospects of making a breakthrough under Big Ange next year.
However, pundit Carlton Palmer has advised Gray to part ways with Spurs on a temporary basis to secure regular first-team action. The former England striker has encouraged Leeds United to bring their graduate back for the remainder of the campaign to aid the club’s promotion aspirations, but warned them that they may struggle to thrash out a deal due to heavy competition.
“Tottenham are bracing themselves for a host of clubs to test the waters in regard to taking Archie Gray on loan,” Palmer exclusively told Football League World.
“There’s talk of Premier League clubs and Championship clubs who would be interested in taking him in on loan. Gray is still well thought of by Postecoglou. He sees the 18-year-old as a very shrewd bit of business, and one which will pay off in the long term.
“He’s highly rated, but his game time has been affected, he hasn’t had enough game time. He has only played 393 minutes of action in all competitions so far this season, so the question remains, will they let him go out on loan?
“If they do let him go, Leeds may have just missed out on his return with Premier League clubs interested. It would be a great bit of business if they could pull it off, but there will be lots of competition for the midfielder.
“I don’t think he’d want to go to the likes of Southampton, who are struggling, maybe Leicester City, who are just outside the drop.
“I think it would be a great fit for him to return to Leeds. He’s only 18, very versatile, as Leeds fans know, and he could play a major part from Christmas till the end of the season, by helping them get promoted back to the Premier League.”
Gray is yet to start a Premier League game for Spurs. He has been limited to only substitute league appearances, totalling just 41 minutes of action. Overall, the England youth international has played 11 times in a Tottenham shirt, which is not good enough for his development.
The Durham-born talent turned heads across England with his breakthrough campaign at Leeds, providing them with a fantastic option at both right-back and in midfield. After featuring 52 times for the Whites, Gray warranted more game time at Spurs but the presence of senior midfielders means he has had to be patient for his opportunities. Plus, there is a serious probability of his opportunities becoming even more constrained if the volume of fixture congestion eases during the latter half of the ongoing season.
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Thus, it would be in the best interests for all parties involved if Gray seeks a temporary move away from Tottenham during the mid-season trading period. A move back to Leeds in such a scenario would be ideal.
