Daniel Farke included six youngsters in his Leeds United squad that travelled to Germany this month and one of those was Archie Gray’s 15-year-old younger brother, Harry.
Of course, 18-year-old Archie is the latest of an incredible dynasty that saw the Thorp Arch academy product become the fourth of his family to play for Leeds, clocking up more than 50 games last season.
But to the surprise of many, Gray left Leeds earlier this summer to join Tottenham for a fee of £40m. He has since been playing for Spurs as a central defender, starring in pre-season for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
For younger brother Harry, pre-season has also been a big positive. The youngster played against League Two side Harrogate, and then featured in the 4-1 win over Hannover in Germany as a Leeds substitute.
Harry Gray posts injury news on Instagram before deleting post
One of six youngsters to go to Germany along with Charlie Crew, James Debayo and Luca Thomas, Gray is already earning comparisons with his older brother as Farke ran the rule over the teenager this summer.
But, bad news. Leeds flew back to England on Monday and Gray took to Instagram, describing his time with the senior squad as a “great experience” but confirmed to fans that he had picked up a new injury.
He posted that it would see him ruled out until the new year, only to then delete the post. But by the time he did, plenty saw it including Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth, who uploaded a screenshot on X.
Smyth said: “Wouldn’t ordinarily report injury news from the Under 18s but given he was with the first team this week. Huge shame.”
Gray’s deleted post said: “Great experience in Germany. Gutted to pick up an injury, but will be back stronger in 2025.”
Gray follows his older brother’s pathway, but to bad effect
Archie’s debut at the beginning of the 2023-24 season was a long-time coming. At 17, it was almost as if his senior outing had been delayed, having starred in pre-season 2022 under manager Jesse Marsch.
Tottenham recruit Gray was part of the Leeds squad that went to Australia and was on the receiving end of a horrific tackle from John McGinn. He picked up an injury later that season, ruling him out of action.
Leeds fans will be hoping his younger brother can become the fifth member of the Gray family to play for the Yorkshire club – but right now, Gray has inadvertently followed his brother’s example to bad effect.
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