Leeds United teen Archie Gray’s agent reveals expectations for Premier League season - YEP 29/7/22

Archie Gray's agent has likened John McGinn's tackle on the Leeds United teenager to the actions of a Sunday League 'old fella.'

By Graham Smyth

Hayden Evans, who along with Gray's father Andy represents a number of Whites players, was unimpressed with the Aston Villa midfielder's challenge during the pre-season friendly in Brisbane.

Shortly after being booked for a tackle on Villa's Emiliano Buendia, Gray was caught on the ankle by McGinn and was stretchered off.

McGinn made contact with the 16-year-old after the game to enquire after his welfare and the injury turned out to be minor, with Gray back in training a few days later in Perth and an unused substitute for the game against Crystal Palace last Friday.

Speaking to Dan Moylan and Michael Normanton on The Phil Hay Show, Evans saw nothing wrong with Gray's challenge on Buendia but took a different view on McGinn's.

"I thought it was typical McGinn really," he said.

"People are saying it's a repercussion from the previous tackle by Archie but when you analyse, you don't even need to analyse, when you look at the slow-mo of both, Archie's was completely fair, hard but fair. McGinn physically turns his back in the challenge, leaves his foot in, a bit of a dig with it as well. It's like a Sunday League old fella making sure that the young lad knows he’s there, it was a bit cheap I thought."

The sight of the youngster being carried off the pitch in tears was an obvious concern.

"I think the tears came from frustration, a young lad, I've just come on how bad is this? How bad is this gonna be?" said Evans

"I messaged Andy straight away and Andy messaged me back about half an hour later, something like that and said it looks like it might not be that bad. So it was a sigh of relief."

Gray trained with the first team last season and was included in matchday squads without making a senior debut.

Head coach Jesse Marsch considers the teen part of the senior set-up for the upcoming Premier League season and insists the 16-year-old will play.

"I think it was flattering, the comments that Marsch made about him being regarded as a first team player," said Evans.

"As we mentioned a year ago we were trying to keep it calm a little bit but, you know, once that talent comes out, and he started with the performances that he's given, you're not really going to be suppressing the talent. It wasn't a surprise that he was in the squad."

Initially Leeds were keen to keep the noise down around Gray due to his age but senior involvement this summer has led to a growing and inevitable buzz. If how highly Leeds rated him was ever a secret, it was blown last season when director of football Victor Orta made a comparison between his first sightings of both Gray and a young Sergio Aguero.

Gray is not someone Evans worries about when it comes to hype or external pressure.

"I think overexposure is different things," he said.

"If overexposure is getting minutes, no problem at all. But if it's all the other stuff off field, because he's young, and all the rest of the excitement around it, then there's nobody better than the Gray family and us an agency to just calm all that down.

"You always will [get noise] when it's exciting young talent, everybody wants a little piece of it if they can, and you know, one of the major things is to keep them grounded, but we don't need to worry too much about Archie, that whole family environment is them bring brought up on football. They don't need me as an agent to tell them to be careful about."

Gray also has the ear of senior players in Marsch's dressing room if he needs advice. They have taken to him and made no bones about his potential during press engagements in Australia.

The hope, from the youngster's camp, is that this season he gradually starts to experience life not only in the dressing room but on the pitch with his more senior colleagues.

"I think just measured appearances really, you know, you never want to overkill it," said Evans.

"You never want to put them under too much pressure, but it'd be good for him to have a taste of it. So I think just measured minutes. For us, it's touches you know, you just want him to have as many touches of the ball in the minutes that he is on the field."