Tottenham Hotspur have signed Archie Gray from Leeds United on a six-year contract.
Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate this summer’s senior Premier League transfers in five categories, with each aspect given a score out of 100, to reach a total score out of 500. Hence, The Athletic 500. The ratings are explained in more detail here (not all transfers will be rated as there may be a lack of data to support an analysis).
Below is our rating for this move.
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Tactical fit — 69/100
“Sometimes he is a six, sometimes he is an eight, sometimes he’s a 10. Sometimes he’s a full-back and he does all that with ease, which is not easy to do because it requires real energy and a really strong work ethic.”
Ange Postecoglou said this about Pape Matar Sarr in November last year and don’t be surprised if you hear something similar when he describes Gray in the future because Spurs’ latest signing brings versatility and so much more to the table.
Last season, Gray operated as both a right-back and in various midfield roles for Leeds, playing in 47 of their 49 Championship matches (including play-offs). An excellent passer with both feet, he recorded a higher passing accuracy in the final third (85 per cent) than overall (84 per cent), while 34 per cent of his passes were forward.
As the pass solar map below shows, Gray was able to establish connections across the pitch, preferring shorter passes to help Leeds dictate the tempo.
Gray is also a decent dribbler and was successful with 51 per cent of his take-ons last season. While this is still an area of his game that requires work, he is confident in his ability to wriggle out of danger, as he does below against Birmingham City in January, taking touches with both feet to beat a presser before finding a team-mate with a reverse pass.
A key area Gray will have to improve is his ball progression, which is vital to Postecoglou’s system, where midfielders either underlap the full-backs or drop back to play in wider players. Gray averaged only 4.2 progressive passes and 1.8 progressive carries per 90 minutes last season (compared to Sarr’s 6.5 and 1.9), though a caveat here is that he often played at right-back.
Gray will also need to improve his physicality and committed a few defensive errors last season, though this should get ironed out with more experience. He already boasts the ability to win the ball without giving away too many fouls (4.9 recoveries, 2.3 tackles and 0.5 fouls committed per 90 last season), as he does below against Coventry City in April, changing direction on the fly to make an excellent recovery.
Overall, Gray looks like a valuable long-term addition for Spurs with the ability to contribute immediately as well. His age and experience playing in multiple positions means Postecoglou can mould him into a No 6, 8 or 10 based on the team’s needs.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Season rating: 63/100
Rating the player over the course of last season, using statistics from The Athletic’s data team.
Gray made a huge impression in his first full season as a professional last year, and it should come as no surprise he was one of England’s most in-demand young players this summer.
He made 44 appearances (40 starts) in the Championship as Leeds finished third and reached the play-off final. He played as a central midfielder and right-back under Daniel Farke and, for his excellent performances across two positions, he was named Leeds United’s young player of the season, the Championship’s apprentice of the season and the Championship’s young player of the season.
Gray is yet to score a professional goal, but both of his assists last season came from full-back, first in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in December and then in Leeds’ 4-0 victory against Swansea City in February.
Elias Burke
Gaming rating: 71/100
Rating the player according to Football Manager 2024’s data across both current and potential ability.
According to Football Manager, Gray is not yet a starting-quality player for Tottenham, but he has the potential to be a Premier League standout and an England international.
Gray is ranked among the Premier League’s standout teenage midfielders on FM24, with a current ability rating of 119. This is comparable to Chelsea and France Under-21 international midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu (114) but significantly worse than Tottenham’s 21-year-old central midfield star Pape Matar Sarr (148).
While Gray will be involved in Ange Postecoglou’s first-team plans this season, his potential prompted Tottenham to spend big money. By Sports Interactive’s estimations, Gray has a potential range between 150 and 180. If he does not progress past his potential floor, Spurs fans can expect another player on Sarr’s current level. However, if he reaches his potential ceiling, Gray will rank in a similar tier to Rodri (180).
We gave Gray a potential ability of 165 for the gaming rating, which is in the middle of this range.
Elias Burke
Financial value rating: 63/100
A four-category summary of the player’s transfer in financial terms — and whether it makes sense for his new club.
Market value — 13/25
Placed in context, a £25-30million ($32m-38m) cash outlay for a highly-rated teenager tipped to become an England international does not appear bad business. Though he is far more experienced on a club and international stage, Warren Zaire-Emery is four days older than Gray, and that fee would not get near satisfying PSG’s expectations.
Still, a deal worth around £40million (including Joe Rodon going the other way) is a significant outlay for a player with no Premier League experience and just one year of senior football under his belt.
GO DEEPER
Inside Archie Gray's move to Spurs, his exit from Leeds, and a manic 48 hours
Squad cost — 15/25
Postecoglou wanted to strengthen central midfield this summer as absences and injuries, particularly during the AFCON, hit the north London club hard around the turn of the year. Gray also provides cover at right-back, though he is a very different profile to Pedro Porro, who featured most regularly in that position last season. It does, however, mean Spurs have less money available to sign a forward, arguably their greatest transfer need ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Contract sensibility — 17/25
With a six-year deal tying his future down at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2030, Gray is set to be a Spurs player for a long time. It gives the club a strong bargaining position if a sale were to be on the cards in the coming years, but also allows him time to grow into the player Tottenham fans hope he will become. It does, however, mean Tottenham could be burdened with his salary for a long time if the move does not work out.
Resale value — 18/25
Ask any Leeds fan; Gray is a potential superstar. Spurs fans will not want to hear of a move away without even seeing him grace the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but a long contract means Spurs will be in a strong negotiating position if a Premier League or European giant were to make a move. However, a £25-30million outlay is significant, so a club would have to offer huge money for the deal to make sense with PSR considerations.
Elias Burke
Risk or reward? 75/100
Is there a history of injury or other problems that could crop up and make this deal a bad one in retrospect? Or does the player come with a clean bill of health? Our expert takes a look.
Tottenham have won big with the signing of Archie Gray.
He is one of the most promising talents in the world in his position. He is the type of press-resistant, highly technically proficient central midfield player England rarely produces. As Spurs seem to move beyond Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg under Postecoglou, there is a viable future where the current young core of central midfielders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium run the middle of the park in Premier League matches for the next decade and beyond.
There are obvious questions regarding his experience and a lack of sample size regarding his injury record, though a clean bill of health last season is encouraging. Still, this is a huge upside signing that Spurs fans should be excited about.
Elias Burke
Overall rating: 341/500
(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)