When Archie Gray broke into the Under 23s side as a 16-year-old last season, there was instantly excitement around the teenager and what he could achieve at Leeds United.
The youngster has a legendary name at the club, with his great uncle Eddie being one of the club's most famous ever players and a key part of Don Revie's team in the 1970s.
However, his own talent has been clear to see, as whilst there was an injury crisis at the club which saw senior Under 23s players promoted to the first-team and gave him his opportunity up an age-group, Gray looked totally at home playing with older players and hasn't looked back since.
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His rapid development was highlighted further on Thursday night as the 16-year-old started in midfield next to Marc Roca in Leeds' opening pre-season friendly. Gray played over an hour of the game and looked comfortable against Championship opponents, although he was fouled increasingly as the second half went on and left the pitch limping.
Leeds fans were wowed by what they saw from the youngster, as he competed physically against players far older, used the ball intelligently and showed real intelligence in his movement, as well. Fans are right to be excited about Gray's future, according to Robin Koch, as the German defender spoke about playing against the teenager in training after Gray had scored a stunning goal against Manchester United Under 23s last season:
"First of all, he's a good guy and a good person and obviously a really good player as well. I think we will have a lot of fun with him in the future.
"Especially in murderball, when you mark him man to man, you get a feeling he is really good with the ball and already at his age he has a good feeling for the open spaces. He's quite advanced for his age and in his vision as well. He's a really good player."
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