How Elland Road crowd reacted to Archie Gray-Leeds United reunion vs Tottenham
Archie Gray returned to Elland Road as a Tottenham player as Thomas Frank’s side searched for a victory against Leeds United.
Gray has been a back-up player for Tottenham under the new manager, with the manager having multiple options in the centre of midfield and across the defence.
He was on the bench once again as Spurs travelled north of London, but the visitors got off to the quickest start on Saturday, 4 October, taking the lead through Mathys Tel after 23 minutes.
Just 11 minutes later, Leeds had already equalised thanks to Noah Okafor, and despite not being on the pitch, Gray remained a main focus for the home supporters due to his links.
The 19-year-old trudged down the touchline to warm up, and it has now emerged how the Leeds fans reacted to his return after signing for the Lilywhites on a £40million deal in the summer of 2024.
Leeds United fans welcome Archie Gray back to Elland Road
Taking to X (4 October), Alasdair Gold wrote: “The Leeds fans sing to Archie Gray, ‘You’re Leeds and you know you are’. The teenager smiles before jogging off from his warm-up.
“Ben Davies seemed to be suggesting to him that he should have acknowledged it,” but it was still a nice moment between the two parties as tempers flared on the pitch.
This is the first time that Gray has returned as a player since his move to North London, but it went much better than anticipated for him personally, likely due to his family’s long-standing history at the club.
If it were up to the player, he probably would have liked to have been on the pitch rather than watching from the sidelines. Joao Palhinha has impressed at Tottenham, though, and he appears undroppable right now.
Can Gray become a more important player for Thomas Frank?
It is difficult to see exactly where the youngster fits into the current team, especially as Ange Postecoglou used him as a defender during his final season in North London.
That was mainly due to the high number of injuries that the now-Nottingham Forest manager was being forced to contend with, and Frank does not have that kind of issue, apart from in the final third.
Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke are both sidelined, but as talented as Gray is, Frank will not be putting the midfielder in an attacking role to account for their absences.