Tyler Adams was just 16-year-old when he made his first appearance under Jesse Marsch. The midfielder was with New York Red Bulls at the time and after impressing in the club’s reserve ranks, the head coach gave him the chance to shine in a first-team friendly against Chelsea.
He more than took his opportunity, scoring with a header as the Red Bulls won 4-2, before going on to become a regular in Marsch’s plans. As such, having started his professional career under the current Leeds United boss at such a young age, it’s fair to say Adams knows all about the path that Archie Gray seems to find himself on.
Gray, who doesn’t turn 17 until March, has been training with the first-team this summer and he was selected to travel to Australia, where he made quite an impression, despite his limited game time. The youngster made two short appearances against Brisbane Roar and Aston Villa but was forced off the field through injury in the latter and as a result he watched the club’s final game of their tour Down Under from the bench.
Read more: Leeds United's progress on and off the field Down Under as Jesse Marsch makes mark
Adams sees plenty of potential in Gray and he’s backing Marsch to give him the chances to progress in the Premier League this season.
“I think Archie is going to have some big opportunities coming up this season,” he said. “Obviously he’s still so young but getting that experience is going to be important for him.
“When he’s on the field he‘s just himself and you can see he has that confidence and a little bit of arrogance to him and that’s what you need as a young player. Jesse loves those types of players, he’s going to give him opportunities as long as he’s working hard and continues to try and improve.
“It feels weird because that was like me when I first met Jesse and obviously he gave me the opportunity to sign and to start my professional career. Archie seems to, not be following in my footsteps, but he’s going to have a great career, I think he’ll have opportunities under Jesse.”
In the years since his debut, Adams has followed Marsch to RB Leipzig and having linked up with the American once more at Leeds, it’s fair to say the pair have a special bond.
“He’s given me the opportunity to start my professional career and I always owe him that,” Adams added. “At the end of the day we have a very good relationship.
“He’s very hard on me and he wants me to continue improving and have that hunger and that’s why I was keen to work under him again. He pushes me to my limits and a certain point where you have to continually come in and earn his respect. That’s something I want to work under.”
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