Tottenham Hotspur get their Premier League campaign under way on Monday night with a trip to Leicester City.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has been working hard over the summer to fine-tune his tactics and squad ahead of the new season.
Tottenham have been fairly busy on the transfer front since the window opened in June, with several new additions to their ranks.
Spurs’ first signing of the summer was Archie Gray, one of English football’s most talented youngsters. He arrived from Leeds United.
Tottenham have also signed Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth and re-signed Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig.
In addition, Lucas Bergvall has finally arrived from Djurgarden and Yang Min-hyuk is now on Spurs’ books, though he won’t join until next year.
Postecoglou, speaking to football.london at his pre-match press conference, was asked about some of his new signings.
The Tottenham boss outlined how one of his new arrivals has a “really strong mentality” and how happy he is with how he has fared at N17 so far.
Archie Gray could play for Tottenham on Monday
Postecoglou spoke highly about Gray, confirming that the 18-year-old is very much in contention to play against the Foxes on Monday.
When asked whether Gray is in contention to replace the suspended Yves Bissouma, the Spurs boss said: “Yeah, Archie has settled in really well.
“Again, great kid but a really, strong mindset. We’ve asked him to play different positions, but he’s handled it really well.
“Part of the attraction of bringing someone like Archie to our club… he can play more than one position. So when it’s required, we can use him in those areas.
“He is going really well, I am really happy with him and he has every chance to play on Monday.”
Gray will fancy his chances of featuring often for Spurs this season
Although Gray is just 18 years old, he has done more than enough to prove he’s ready for the highest level.
He clocked up over 50 competitive appearances for Leeds and was one of their brightest players in their run to the Championship playoff final.
Gray, who Elland Road cult hero Jermaine Beckford has described as “incredible” on Sky Sports via Leeds Live, has also impressed for Tottenham in pre-season.
With Spurs set to compete in the Europa League, Gray is likely to get a decent amount of game time – maybe even some starts – early on in his N17 career.
It has been reported that Postecoglou plans to use Gray as cover at right-back initially, but his long-term future is said to be in midfield.
Writer’s Tottenham prediction for the season
Tottenham were impressive for most of last season and were in top-four contention until April, when a downturn in form cost them a Champions League spot.
This season, Spurs’ goal will be to cement a spot in the top four and qualify for Europe’s premier club competition once again.
At the same time, Tottenham will be eager to end a trophy drought that goes back 16 years, and the cups are the best chance of doing so this season.
Spurs are in the Europa League and will fancy their chances of a good run in the competition, and the FA Cup and League Cup cannot be discounted either.
The writer’s prediction for Tottenham is a fourth-placed league finish and a great cup run – potentially even the final – in at least one of the competitions.