Newcastle should accelerate Archie Gray plan as superb pre-season stats emerge

Newcastle United target Archie Gray played an hour of Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 win over Auckland FC in the first match of their pre-season tour.

Dane Scarlett and Richarlison scored for the North London club, but it was the young midfielder who took much of the acclaim.

The 20-year-old's future remains somewhat unclear after the Lilywhites rejected an offer from Newcastle at the start of the month.

The Magpies remain interested and may return to make another move if Bruno Guimaraes completes a move to Arsenal.

The Brazilian is keen to join the Premier League champions, with Newcastle reportedly weighing up potential replacements for their captain.

Gray is under contract until 2030 at Tottenham, but has seen several big names appear ahead of him in the competition for minutes on the pitch.

Archie Gray impresses in pre-season

Gray will hope to leave an impression on his new manager from the deeper part of midfield in pre-season.

The Lilywhites have signed both Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in that position this summer, in deals worth a combined £185million, and the competition does not end there.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Conor Gallagher remain at the club and will likely play ahead of Gray, while Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr will likely leave when an appropriate fee is received.

Gray has also featured at right-back and centre-back, but the arrivals of Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke likely put a dent in any hopes of featuring in those roles.

The 20-year-old certainly gave a good account of himself against Auckland FC, however.

The midfielder created two chances, including a big one, as well completing all of his successful dribbles and winning a foul.

Defensively, Gray was superb. He completed two tackles, two clearances, five recoveries and won four duels.

Could Gray replace Bruno Guimaraes?

Guimaraes is going to be incredibly hard to replace if he does leave Newcastle this summer.

The midfielder is the epitome of the project itself, capable of flipping games on their heads with a crunching tackle or stunning strike.

Gray is not that player, yet. There may be confidence at St James' Park that he can be, however, and planning for the future appears to be Newcastle's best bet.

It is not clear just how much it will take to persuade Tottenham to part ways with him, but it may well be a fee worth paying.