Archie James Francis Gray (born 12 March 2006) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

currently playing as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

Club career

Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, Gray joined

at under-9 level. He progressed rapidly through the academy, and an agreement had to be met between Leeds United and Gray's school, the St John Fisher Catholic High School in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

, for Gray to miss classes in order to train with the first team, at the request of then-manager

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

. On 18 December 2021, aged 15, Gray was named on the bench for a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

game against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Had he featured, he would have broken the record for Leeds United's youngest player, set in 1962 by

Peter Lorimer Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer, best known for his time with Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever ...

. He made the bench a further five times in the 2021–22 season, but did not feature. He signed a two-year scholarship deal with Leeds United in September 2022. Gray made his debut for Leeds' first team on 6 August 2023, in the first game of the 2023–24 EFL Championship season at home to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

International career

Gray has represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. He remains eligible to represent Scotland. On 17 May 2023, Gray was named in the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

squad for the

2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2023) is the 20th UEFA European Under-17 Championship (39th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organised ...

. Having already stepped up to the England U19 squad, Gray made his

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

debut on 16 November 2023 during a 3–0 defeat to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

at the

Eco-Power Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that it ...

Personal life

He is the son of Andy Gray, and Giorgina. He is one of four brothers. He is also the grandson of

Frank Gray Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish Association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. He played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Sunde ...

, and the great nephew of Eddie Gray, all of whom played for Leeds United and represented Scotland at international level. His brother, Harry, also plays for the Leeds United academy.

Career statistics

Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Archie 2006 births Living people Footballers from Durham, England English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Leeds United F.C. players England men's youth international footballers English people of Scottish descent Gray family (footballers)