Archie Gray has been backed as a future Tottenham captain by Roberto De Zerbi.
Gray has been one of the leading figures for Spurs in a sorry season where they have battled relegation from the Premier League and starred in the Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid last month.
Minutes have been harder to come by for Gray since De Zerbi took over and, ahead of Monday’s visit of former club Leeds, the 20-year-old has been praised but urged to nail down one position after stints in defence and midfield.
De Zerbi says Gray is ‘the future’
“He is very young, (but) big potential as a player. I think he can become the future,” De Zerbi said.
The Leeds academy graduate is not yet one of Tottenham’s top earners but has certainly earned his status as one of the most important members of the squad.
|
Rank |
Player |
Gross pay per week |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Conor Gallagher |
£200,000 |
|
=2 |
Xavi Simons |
£195,000 |
|
=2 |
Cristian Romero |
£195,000 |
|
4 |
James Maddison |
£170,000 |
|
=5 |
Mohammed Kudus |
£150,000 |
|
=5 |
Randal Kolo Muani |
£150,000 |
|
7 |
Dominic Solanke |
£140,000 |
|
8 |
Joao Palhinha |
£135,000 |
|
9 |
Dejan Kulusevski |
£110,000 |
|
=10 |
Richarlison |
£90,000 |
|
=10 |
Micky van de Ven |
£90,000 |
|
=12 |
Pedro Porro |
£85,000 |
|
=12 |
Radu Dragusin |
£85,000 |
|
14 |
Ben Davies |
£80,000 |
|
=15 |
Guglielmo Vicario |
£75,000 |
|
=15 |
Rodrigo Bentancur |
£75,000 |
|
=15 |
Destiny Udogie |
£75,000 |
|
=15 |
Archie Gray |
£75,000 |
|
19 |
Pape Sarr |
£70,000 |
|
20 |
Kevin Danso |
£65,000 |
|
21 |
Lucas Bergvall |
£60,000 |
|
=22 |
Yves Bissouma |
£55,000 |
|
=22 |
Mathys Tel |
£55,000 |
|
=24 |
Djed Spence |
£40,000 |
|
=24 |
Wilson Odobert |
£40,000 |
|
26 |
Antonin Kinsky |
£30,000 |
|
=27 |
Brandon Austin |
£15,000 |
|
=27 |
Dane Scarlett |
£15,000 |
The manager continued: “I am sure he can become the future of this club and the captain of this club.
“He has to understand better what will be his position on the pitch. He can play in a lot of positions, but maybe I would like him to be more specific in one position.
“We are working on that, in individual meetings with individual clips.
“For me and any way he is (still) an important player. Joao Palhinha did not play the first three games and the fourth was one of the best players on the pitch.”
Palhinha is the perfect example for Gray after the Portuguese midfielder was initially overlooked, with Yves Bissouma preferred, before his late winner at Wolves was followed by a start in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Tottenham moved out of the bottom three with a second consecutive league victory at Villa Park, where one of several interesting tactical elements was Palhinha’s tendency to drop into a right centre-back position.
It allowed right-back Pedro Porro the freedom to regularly move into midfield and ensured Spurs dominated possession, but De Zerbi stressed a repeat was not guaranteed at home to Leeds.
He added: “It depends on the different games because the principles in football are very important.
“The mental part is crucial, but also the strategy can be very important. We will change something in the occupation of the spaces, for sure, but I wouldn’t like to give too many ideas, too many instructions, especially in this moment.
“I don’t want the players to lose energy thinking what is the plan. No, I want the players to play with freedom, play with confidence and following the plan.”
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De Zerbi’s positivity and front-foot approach have revived Spurs after they spent three weeks in the relegation zone, but the Italian warned against underestimating 14th-placed Leeds.
“First of all, we’re going to play against one of the best teams in this moment,” he said.
“We have a big respect. We can’t think in a different way. We have to keep this mentality.
“We must remain humble. Nothing changes. We have to prepare an important game.”