Tottenham Hotspur were inked with a host of midfielders over the summer but Spurs believe that they have struck gold with Archie Gray.
The summer brought the third transfer window of the Ange Postecoglou era and fans wanted major additions after missing out on the Champions League last season.
Tottenham Hotspur finished fifth last season and big signings were seen as a few to bridge the gap and break back into the top four.
What actually happened over the summer has somewhat divided opinion a little as Tottenham continued to focus on signing young players.
Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert joined whilst Lucas Bergvall finally started his Spurs career after agreeing to join from Djurgarden.
Timo Werner returned on loan and Spurs invested big money in Dominic Solanke but some fans were expecting other areas to be addressed.
- READ MORE: Tottenham confirmed signings, transfer ins and outs, loans and releases for 2024 summer window
Tottenham Hotspur stance on Archie Gray
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg moved on to Marseille and Tottenham were linked with a number of midfielders, but more with the idea of landing a box-to-box player.
Tottenham attempted to sign Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa but a swap involving Giovani Lo Celso was turned down.
Spurs also targeted Conor Gallagher but found that Chelsea just wouldn’t sell to Tottenham before allowing him to join Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham eventually decided not to bring in a proven Premier League midfielder, instead backing teenager Gray to make the step up.
Gray arrived from Leeds in a £40million deal and the Daily Mail claim that Tottenham are encouraged by his development.
It’s stated that the way Gray has settled into life at Tottenham means Spurs are convinced that they have made the right call.
Signing another midfielder may have further blocked Gray’s path to first-team action and Tottenham appear to be backing the teenager to kick on and prove that he can the long-term solution in the Spurs engine room.
Gray waiting for his Tottenham Hotspur chance
The teenager broke through with Leeds United last season and predominantly played as a right back under Daniel Farke.
Gray is a midfielder by trade though and he has taken a big leap by leaving a Championship promotion-chaser to a team chasing Champions League qualification.
There is a major learning curve for Gray to take and we have only seen him come off the bench twice in Tottenham’s first four Premier League games.
Gray must now stay patient and wait for his chance, whether it is in midfield or at right back; maybe even centre back after playing there in pre-season.
EFL Cup and Europa League games are coming up through and Ange Postecoglou will be keen to give him minutes in those competitions.
That will hopefully lead to more Premier League action today and potentially a starring role for Tottenham as Spurs look to mould and develop the next midfield star at the club rather than buy a more ‘finished’ product.
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