Tottenham Hotspur host Fulham tomorrow afternoon, looking to follow up their emphatic victory over Manchester City last weekend with another win, and Ange Postecoglou should consider handing Archie Gray his first Premier League start.
Gray has been limited mostly to appearances in the Europa League and the EFL Cup since arriving from Leeds United in the summer, with Postecoglou granting him just 46 total league minutes. However, the 18-year-old impressed in mid-week at left-back against Roma, and ought to be in the reckoning to feature against Fulham.
With Rodrigo Bentancur suspended, and Spurs leaking goals in recent games, Gray should be added to the midfield trio, to add increased defensive stability and a metronomic passer to the middle of the park. Otherwise, Fulham's offensive threat could overwhelm Postecoglou's team, and they risk suffering a damaging defeat in their top four pursuit.
Postecoglou Should Start Gray vs Fulham
He's deserving of minutes
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Archie Gray in action
After an exceptional breakthrough campaign at Elland Road, Tottenham opted to spend £30 million on Gray, with Postecoglou keen on snapping the talented teenager up early in his career. While the versatile midfielder, described as a 'sensation', likely expected to be integrated slowly, he also likely expected more playing time than he's been given thus far.
Bentancur is currently serving a seven-game Premier League ban, and thus a spot should open up for Gray to play against Fulham. Spurs shipped two goals to Roma on Thursday, two against Ipswich and three against Galatasaray prior to the international break, indicating a clear vulnerability to their back-line, which could be aleviated somewhat by Gray's defensive awareness and positioning.
Having played in both full-back positions on numerous occasions throughout his fledgling career, the youngster has the ability to read the game and thus prevent transitions, an area which has been a weakness for Spurs. Against the Cottagers, who carry an abundance of threat in transition with the likes of Reiss Nelson, Adama Traore and Emile Smith Rowe, Gray's attributes in this area will be very useful.
Opting for Yves Bissouma, alongside Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, could leave Tottenham exposed on the counter-attack, while they also require a high volume passer to help break Marco Silva's team down. Thus, to claim all three points and prevent themselves from dropping out of the top four race, Gray must start.
Gray's Championship Statistics 2023/24
Appearances
Pass Accuracy
Progressive Passes Per 90
Progressive Carries Per 90
Tackles Per 90
Interceptions Per 90
All Statistics via FBRef - correct as of 30/11/2024
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