Roberto De Zerbi has already played his hand with Archie Gray - Tottenham gem must be furious

Archie Gray would have been hoping for a different story under Roberto De Zerbi, but the Tottenham Hotspur gem looks set for more frustration.

The former Leeds United man started just 18 Premier League games in 2025-26, and very often, was forced out of position, especially to full-back.

During an extremely injury-hit 2024-25 campaign, Ange Postecoglou had no choice but to play the youngster at centre-back, but very little has changed.

While he has been appearing in the middle of the park more often in the last 12 months, the upcoming campaign looks to be equally disappointing.

Instead of trusting the youngster, Spurs have splashed the cash on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, both of whom started against MK Dons on Wednesday, 22 July.

That meant that the 20-year-old was forced into the right-back position, and it was far from the most ideal performance ahead of the new season.

What did the stats say about Archie Gray vs MK Dons?

De Zerbi changed the entire starting lineup at half-time, so the young gem was only given 45 minutes to impress, but he couldn't quite do that out of position.

While he completed 96 per cent of his passes and made two tackles, he won just 50 per cent of his ground duels and was dispossessed twice [FotMob].

Pedro Porro, undoubtedly, will by the Lilywhites' starting full-back once he returns from holiday, raising yet more questions about Gray's future.

A move to centre-back also doesn't look plausible, mostly due to moves for Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, who joins Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso in the middle.

De Zerbi has an abundance of experience all across the pitch now, and that will only spell bad news for Gray, who must regret leaving Elland Road in 2024.

Where could the Tottenham gem end up this summer?

Back in April, Football Insider understood that Spurs were confident of keeping Gray this summer, but there is plenty of time for that to change.

That is especially true if De Zerbi fails to find space for him on the pitch during pre-season, and the MK Dons game doesn't exactly build confidence of that happening.

It would appear, however, that Newcastle United are very interested in the 20-year-old, who could replace Bruno Guimaraes at St James' Park.

Eddie Howe's side have already seen a bid rejected, but should Arsenal sign Newcastle's No.39, it is likely only a matter of time before the Magpies return with a new offer.