Leeds United: Archie Gray parallels with Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham continue to grow
Leeds United youngster Archie Gray took just five minutes to net on his debut for England Under-21s in their 5-1 win over Azerbaijan U21s.
Gray’s rise since making his senior bow for the Whites at the start of this campaign has been nothing short of sensational.
The 18-year-old has starred for Leeds wherever he has been used, whether that be central midfield or more often at right-back.
And Gray took no time at all to showcase his talents when making the step up to U21s level with his strike moments after being introduced.
Gray was played into space in the box, settled himself and tucked a shot home to round off the scoring in Friday’s (22 March) contest.
As pointed out by Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Joe Donnohue on X [22 March], Gray is the fourth-youngest player to net for the Young Lions.
Jude Bellingham is the youngest at 17 years, 2 months and six days, following by Theo Walcott (17y, 4m, 30d) and Jamal Musiala (17y, 8m, 22d).
There have been a number of parallels between Gray and Real Madrid star Bellingham, who himself started his career in the second tier.
As highlighted by Jonny Cooper last month, Gray is the first player to start 30-plus games in the Championship since Bellingham did so in 2019-20.
Like Bellingham, it is clear Gray is on his way to the very top. Hopefully that is with Leeds, but he will not stick around forever if promotion is not achieved.
This debut strike for the U21s, in the week he earned praise from Gareth Southgate, is just the latest milestone for Gray in his breakthrough campaign.
As someone already hailed as “phenomenal” by Jermaine Beckford, you have to wonder just how high Gray’s ceiling is on the basis of his current trajectory.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites’ social media team appeared to take a swipe at Sky Sports with a tweet sent out.
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