When Archie Gray and his younger brother Harry used to “kick lumps out of each other in the garden” as kids, they both naturally had aspirations of playing at the top level.
As the latest members of the iconic Gray footballing dynasty that’s synonymous with Leeds United, why wouldn’t they?
But what they perhaps didn’t envision was that one day they might be on opposite sides of a Premier League game!
That could happen on Saturday when Archie makes his first return to his boyhood club as a Spurs player – something he says “already feels a little bit weird”.
But when you add in the fact that his 16-year-old sibling is on the verge of breaking through into the senior set-up at Leeds and could be involved in their matchday squad opposite him – a star player for their Under-21s, striker Harry was named on Leeds’ bench in a Premier League game for the first time against Wolves a fortnight ago – it adds an extra layer to what already promises to be an emotional day for the whole family.
“I think half of the family will be in the Spurs end and half of them in the Leeds end!” laughed Archie at Hotspur Way in the build-up to Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off. “I’m joking of course, but hopefully he’s in the squad. Obviously he can’t control that but, you know, he’s just got to keep his head down and work hard in training because he’s got all the talent in the world.
