Phil Hay delivers Archie Gray axe verdict for Leeds United v Millwall clash
Phil Hay does not expect Daniel Farke to drop midfielder Archie Gray for the Leeds United v Millwall clash on Sunday (15 September) at the Den.
The Whites teenager was told to stay at Elland Road despite being called up for international duty citing a minor injury.
Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev are both expected to be available with Ethan Ampadu’s spot in the team guaranteed for now.
Speaking on the Square Ball, the Athletic journalist said on 15:12, “One to watch at the moment, is Archie Gray. I suspect the bigger picture [of not letting him go on international duty] being very very keen to manage his workload, to manage his training load because he is very young and this is his first season of senior football.
“I don’t think anything that happened in the first month would be encouraging Farke to take him out of the team.
“I would assume Gruev is available to play. They’ve got Kamara as well. For the first time in years, they’ve got options in the centre of midfield.
“While I think that Gray will stay in the team on Sunday, it will be a surprise if he’s out of it, at what point does the rotation start?”
Tough one
It’s going to be difficult for the Whites to win at the Den, given their track record there in the past.
This time they’ve got a strong squad, a lot of whom are arguably Premier League level footballers so a win should be on the cards.
Leeds have been better on the road this season and it remains to be seen what team Daniel Farke goes for.
He cannot start Georginio Rutter as a number nine as Joel Piroe will be a quality option there and has fit in well too.
Interesting options for Farke as Jaidon Anthony is also now in the mix and is also a decent shout to play on the right wing.
Hopefully, they can pick up the three points and climb up the table and get closer to the play-off spots.
In other Leeds United news, a Whites player now faces over 12 weeks out of action due to injury if the worst-case scenario takes place.