Archie Gray from Leeds United has swiftly established himself as one of England’s most promising young players this season.
Gray, who had been in and around Leeds’ first team under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch but had not made an appearance, has been crucial to the Whites’ success this season.
He barely turned 18 this week, yet he is already a member of England’s U21 squad, and Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate has mentioned him as a possible substitute for the senior team.
And, while he is the best teenager Leeds has produced in years, he was not even the most talked about player at Thorp Arch until his breakthrough this season, according to Phil Hay.
In fact, it was his brother, Harry. On the most recent episode of the Square Ball Podcast, Hay shared a terrific story from their great uncle Eddie about going to see Harry a few years ago and why he was making more waves than Archie.
Hay shares the wonderful Harry Gray story.
He stated, “Given what is going on with Harry [Gray] and what people are saying about him, and for years, you’d probably put good money on Archie and Harry playing together.”
“But it was Harry, not Archie, who made waves due to the quantity of goals he scored.
“I’ve told you this before, but when I interviewed Eddie for the Istanbul story we did in 2020, he told me he’d just spent the weekend seeing his great nephew in Bolton or something like.
“I asked how he did, and he claimed he scored eight goals. Did I say eight goals? He stated he did it every week and wasn’t kidding. There’s a great opportunity there.”
Gray stated in a December interview with the Guardian that he hopes to play with his brother at Leeds in the coming years.
Harry is currently 15, so if he follows the same path as Archie, it won’t be long until he’s competing for a spot in Leeds’ first team.
However, Harry has already sparked attention from Manchester City, and Leeds will be hoping to keep him, as one of his former teammates, Finley Gorman, has already done.
