Tottenham Hotspur continue to sign promising teenagers as Ange Postecoglou is given major talents for the future in North London.
The Premier League season is on the horizon and Tottenham Hotspur are looking to build on last term’s fifth-place finish.
Ange Postecoglou is looking for another strong campaign but some may be surprised by the club’s transfer approach.
With the signing of South Korean wonderkid Yang Min-hyuk, three of Tottenham’s last four signings have been teenagers.
Lucas Bergvall agreed to sign in January before Archie Gray came in from Leeds United, with Yang now signing on the dotted line too.
Tottenham appear to be collecting top young talents and there is so much excitement around Gray right now.
Archie Gray on Tottenham Hotspur move
Tottenham pounced to land Gray after an impressive season in the Championship last term.
The 18-year-old is a midfielder by trade but fared well in a right back role last season, helping Leeds reach the Championship playoff final.
Leeds missed out on promotion though and that forced the club into selling Gray.
Tottenham were happy to strike a deal and Gray has been catching the eye during pre-season with Ben Davies hailing him as ‘incredibly talented’.
Gray has been trialled as a centre back, with Postecoglou testing him there whilst Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin have been unavailable.
The hope is that Gray will be a versatile performer for a long, long time in a Tottenham shirt and he has now opened up on his decision to join Spurs.
Speaking to Football London, Gray admitted that his father Andy was telling him that he simply had to join Tottenham because the club is so ‘massive’.
Gray’s grandfather agreed too, with the family stance on joining Tottenham ultimately helping the teenager make up his mind.
“It’s a huge club and my dad said that too,” said Gray. “He came to my room one morning and said ‘look, you’ve got to go to Spurs. It’s a massive club’. My grandad was saying it as well, he’s obviously done pretty well in his career, and he said at some point you’ve got to go to one of the biggest clubs in England and he thinks now is the right time and he thinks Spurs is a massive club as well.”
“So, with people who have been advising me my whole life, I have to listen to them and I also wanted to do it too, so that was definitely a massive thing and since then I’ve enjoyed every second of it. So, definitely happy that I made that decision,” he added.
HITC understands that Postecoglou’s plans at Tottenham tempted Gray’s family into a deal.
Gray’s family profiled
Gray hails from a family of footballers and it’s clear that they had a major influence on his decision to move on from Leeds.
Father Andy came up in the Leeds United ranks before going on to play for the likes of Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Bradford City, Sheffield United, Sunderland, Burnley and Charlton Athletic.
A physical striker in his playing days, Gray turned out twice for Scotland and managed 50 Premier League appearances.
Then there is grandfather Frank Gray, who also came through at Leeds and played more than 300 times for the club across two spells.
Gray also played for Scotland and became a manager with the likes of Farnborough Town, Grays Athletic and Woking in the 2000’s.
Archie’s great-uncle Eddie is the biggest name of the lot having played more than 450 times for Leeds in a storied playing career.
Still a prominent figure around Leeds to this day, Eddie Gray is the definition of a legend at Elland Road.
Having those former players around Gray is clearly a major help and they have pushed the teenager towards Tottenham – something Postecoglou and Spurs fans will be delighted about given his huge potential.
The post 'Massive': Archie Gray shares what his father told him about leaving Leeds United for Tottenham Hotspur appeared first on HITC.
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