Stuart Dallas makes ‘special’ Archie Gray admission after what he saw at Leeds United
Stuart Dallas has admitted he knew Archie Gray was “special” after he saw him in the Leeds United gym after picking up an injury.
The teenager who enjoyed an excellent breakthrough season under Daniel Farke last term departed Elland Road this summer in a big-money move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Although Dallas also left the Whites last season having picked up a career-ending injury two years prior, the 33-year-old former Leeds favourite admits that Gray’s hunger at Thorp Arch was obvious from the get-go.
Speaking to Sky Sports Premier League (17 September) he said: “It was great for me to have him in the gym as well, obviously he got injured so he was out for quite a while.
“I always tell this story about him that he’d been given this programme in the morning and it would have been pretty long for him and he was obviously still doing his education at the time so he’d have done one part of his gym programme and would have gone to do his education.
“By the time his education would have finished, I was finished, I’d gone and every player was out of there. But I returned in the evening time with my kids when they were in the wee pre-academy and when I’d come back, Archie would still be in the gym.
“I remember saying to him what have you been doing and he’d say, ‘I’m finishing off my programme’ and that to me showed that this kid wants it and he’s going to get it.
“Anybody else would have been gone, there’s no coaches here, no staff here, I’ll go, but he was in and finishing off whatever he had to do.
“That to me showed that he’s different, he’s special.”
How much did Leeds United get for Archie Gray transfer?
While it will be bittersweet for Leeds United supporters to listen to one former fan favourite heap praise on another star, Dallas’ comments show just how lucky the Whites were to call Gray their own, even if it was only for one full season.
The teenager looked so comfortable playing out of position in the Championship under Farke and while there is a belief that Jayden Bogle is a more experienced defender, he hasn’t managed to quite replace Gray yet this term.
Few fans will have begrudged the academy graduate his move to Spurs this summer, yet comments like this make you wonder if the Whites should have done more to keep him at Elland Road over the summer.
Yes, his sale did help Leeds’ financial fair play position massively, but would they have let him depart if they’d known both Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville were going to exit later in the summer?
It’s a question that will likely be asked for years to come.
In other Leeds United news, Harry Gray has been backed to snub a move to Tottenham Hotspur after an Elland Road exit update
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