Ange Postecoglou did not hold back in his praise for Archie Gray after once again asking the Tottenham summer signing to fulfill a difficult role in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The former Leeds United talent was handed his seventh start in a Spurs shirt when he lined up at left-back against Roma in the 2-2 draw in north London.
And while Gray has yet to start a Premier League game, Postecoglou has been delighted with the progress he is showing – especially when he is not getting more time in his preferred positions of central midfield or right-back.
Speaking after the Roma contest, in which Tottenham threw away the lead twice to only claim a point, Postecoglou told Football.London: “There’s a real maturity at only 18. We asked him to play left-back, he has never played that position in his life but does it with a real efficiency & calmness.
“I am so excited by Archie and that’s another positive for us that we have another 18-year-old who just plays and no one mentions that he is 18, they just measure his performance and, like I said, I am asking him to do different jobs.
“It would probably be more comfortable for him if he was settled in one position but he is playing football at a really high level in Europe and the Premier League.
“That’s going to set us up really well for the player that he is going to become.
“I thought Lucas [Bergvall] was really good when he came on last night, he made an impact. With everything else we’re building, there is some real excitement around the young players as well.”
Latest Tottenham news: Kulu not fretting over keeper struggles / Ligue 1 centre-back eyed
Tottenham midfielder Dejan Kulusevski claims the club are still in a strong position when it comes to goalkeepers in the squad despite No.1 Guglielmo Vicario being ruled out for months after undergoing ankle surgery.
Veteran stopper Fraser Forster stepped in for Thursday night’s Europa League draw with Roma, with both Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman were on the bench for the game – and Kulusevski clearly has great faith in Austin, should he be needed to step up.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are reportedly facing a potential battle with French giants PSG over their interest in signing a powerful Ligue 1 centre-back in the January transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou wants another top central defender on board to provide more competition and cover for first-choice trio Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Radu Dragusin.
And, according to Foot Mercato, Spurs are ready to raid French club Lens for Abdukodir Khusanov.