Archie Gray’s decision to leave Leeds United for Tottenham was vindicated on Thursday night after making his full European debut.
Gray joined Spurs for £40 million in the summer and has had a slow start to life in north London, but is expected to see plenty of game time in the Europa League.
Despite Eddie Gray’s insistence midfield is Gray’s best position, the 18-year-old was again playing at right back as a 10-man Spurs defeated Qarabag 3-0 at home.
With former Leeds loanee Djed Spence having been left out of the Europa League squad completely, Gray is likely to continue at right-back throughout Spurs’ campaign in Europe.
Incidentally, Spence actually outshone Gray on his full debut at Coventry City, but this appears as though it was a good night for the former Leeds star.
Local Spurs media react to Gray’s European debut
Despite on paper it looking like a routine victory, Spurs played with a man light for over 80 minutes of the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Gray’s right centre-back Radu Dragusin was given a red card for an early last-man foul, but clearly adapted well with Spurs keeping a clean sheet.
Spurs were understandably forced to withstand some pressure throughout the match, but Gray was able to hold firm defensively.
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He completed 28 of his 39 attempted passes, made two tackles, two clearances and blocked one shot, showing just how involved he was.
Football.London delivered their verdict on Gray’s performance post-match and says it is clear he is continuing to get ‘sharper’, despite playing out of position.
They wrote: “Archie Gray – Put in a real shift at right-back and tried to get Spurs up the pitch as well even with 10 men. It’s not his ideal position but he’s getting plenty of minutes there and he’s getting sharper. Looked like he picked up a late painful knock but was running it off in the final minutes. 7.”
National media also delivers Gray verdict after Spurs win
It seems the national media were also impressed by Gray’s display, who will only get better the more he plays regular minutes.
Despite Qarabag’s man advantage, 90min.com actually focused on Gray’s attacking threat down the right alongside Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski.
That outlet believe ‘meaningful minutes’ in the Premier League are not too far around the corner for Gray.