One pundit has tipped a Tottenham star to leave on loan in January in a bid to get more first team experience under his belt. That player is Archie Gray, who joined Spurs for around £30million from Leeds United in the summer, arriving at the age of 18 years of age having become a first team regular at the age of 17 at Elland Road.
Gray signed knowing it would be a long process of development before he could call himself a regular Spurs starter, with the step up between Championship club Leeds and top four Premier League hopefuls Tottenham a big one. Gray has made 10 appearances across all competitions, but he has only played 41 minutes of Premier League football.
That has led to speculation that Gray could be loaned out to another Premier League club where he might get regular starts in the second half of the season, something pundit Carlton Palmer has mooted.
“He’s highly rated, but his game time has been affected, he hasn’t had enough game time,” he told Football League World. “He has only played 393 minutes of action in all competitions so far this season, so the question remains, will they let him go out on loan?
“If they do let him go, Leeds may have just missed out on his return with Premier League clubs interested. It would be a great bit of business if they could pull it off, but there will be lots of competition for the midfielder. I don’t think he’d want to go to the likes of Southampton, who are struggling, maybe Leicester City, who are just outside the drop.”
Gray has been patient as he continues his development, and speaking in late September, he spoke about Ange Postecoglou’s trust in him. “I’m really grateful to have the manager we’ve got,” he told BBC Sport. “I’m a big fan of him.
“I’m grateful to have him here and to learn so much off him, it’s a big opportunity for me. To hear stuff like that from him, it makes you trust yourself even more and have more confidence to go out there and be fearless. That’s what he wants from us and hopefully we can go out and do that every game we’re trusted to be in.”
