It didn’t take Archie Gray long to give a reminder of his abilities to those present at Elland Road on Sunday as Leeds United U21s took on Sunderland. Collecting the ball on the edge of his own box, Gray smoothly manoeuvred his way around a couple of Black Cats players with some slick footwork before combining neatly with his midfield partner Darko Gyabi to carry Leeds up the pitch.
It was only a minor moment in the contest, but it earned a round of applause from the West Stand crowd, who were clearly delighted to see Gray show just a glimpse of the talent he possesses at his fingertips. It’s fair to say this season has been a challenging one for the 17-year-old, who would have hoped to kick on and establish himself at his boyhood club.
An unfortunate accident at home in September left him with a broken toe and that injury highlighted another issue that has kept him on the sidelines since. As such, Sunday’s Premier League 2 Division 2 outing represented his first start in six months and his return could be a timely one.
Read more: Leeds United U21s player ratings as Joseph and Gyabi star in win over Sunderland
The 3-1 win puts Leeds three points clear at the top of the division and with three games remaining, Gray will be keen to help get Leeds over the line and back into the top flight of youth football. However, he won’t be thinking too far ahead at this stage with his focus rightly being on getting back to his best over the coming weeks.
The midfielder managed to show plenty of encouraging signs in the 65 minutes he was given by Paco Gallardo over the weekend. He played a key role in the midfield as Leeds started well and took the lead through usual suspect Mateo Joseph, before helping the side settle and respond to Sunderland’s equaliser in the first half, with a second goal coming through Sonny Perkins.
He struggled to make a similar impact in the second half as Sunderland enjoyed their most dominant spell of the game and pushed for an equaliser. But, Gray showed enough to suggest he can have a big say on the remainder of the U21s’ campaign to cap the week he put pen to paper on his first professional contract.
Javi Gracia is clearly a fan, taking the opportunity to name Gray in his first-team matchday squad on several occasions during his small time at the club and the Spaniard will be watching closely as the youngster tries to build up momentum once more.
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