Tottenham’s senior players have been urged to follow the example of Archie Gray if the membership are to keep away from a primary relegation in 49 years.
Spurs are seventeenth after a 13-match winless run in the Premier League and with seven video games left have turned to Roberto De Zerbi in a bid to retain top-flight standing.
During a massively disappointing season Gray has been a standout performer, and David Howells – who helped Tottenham keep away from relegation twice in 1994 and 1997 – believes others should follow the lead of the 20-year-old forward of Sunday’s journey to Sunderland.
“You definitely would hope that some of the older players would look across at Archie in the changing room and say, ‘look at this young man, he’s stepping up and it’s not fazing him, this is where we all need to be in terms of attitude and performance’. Yeah, absolutely he’s been the one consistent shining light,” Howells advised the Press Association.
“I thought he was our best player again (against Nottingham Forest). I did say after the game against Atletico Madrid that he looked like an England midfielder, I did because he really looked the part.
“It is a credit to himself because a young lad like that, playing in a team that’s really struggling, he could sink but he’s actually gone the other way and been the best player in most of the games he has played.
“Yeah, massive credit to him and really exciting to see a young player like that at this time thinking about what he could become because the sky’s the limit.”
Gray’s constant type for Spurs has occurred regardless of getting used as a Swiss military knife once more – after he began 18 video games at centre-back throughout the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
Igor Tudor solely lasted seven matches at Tottenham this time period however initially used Gray with no consideration wing-back after which left-back earlier than the Leeds academy graduate bought a run in his favoured central midfield place.
It was an identical story below Thomas Frank, who did a minimum of give Gray his first run in midfield, however England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley believes that versatility is a constructive, particularly at a time when senior boss Thomas Tuchel is assessing choices for this summer time’s World Cup.
“I think midfield is probably his favoured position, but I always say to young players and especially if you’re picking a squad for a tournament, if you have a player that can play right-back, centre-back and centre midfield, it’s highly valuable,” Carsley advised PA.
“It is better to play than not so it is finding a way of staying in the team.”
Gray had nailed down a midfield spot below Tudor and began to present an improved passing vary alongside along with his supreme ranges of health, however a clear slate will start below De Zerbi.
Nevertheless, Carsley feels Gray has made a leap in his growth and it ought to earn {the teenager} a beginning berth throughout a high-pressure seven-match spell.
Carsley added: “With player development, it seems to happen in spurts… to then ‘where did that come from?’.
“Definitely Archie is in that form at the minute that he’s looking powerful, looking strong, he can run with the ball, move the ball really well and bearing in mind he’s playing in a team that is not playing well, he is standing out and that’s testament to him.”
