Archie Gray credits Marcelo Bielsa with 'priceless' role in Leeds United rise

Archie Gray insists he felt comfortable training with the Leeds United first-team at 15-years-old, having taken on board the ‘priceless’ wisdom of manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Gray first caught the eye of the world as a 15-year-old on the Leeds bench for a defeat against Arsenal in December 2021, with Bielsa forced to look deep into his reserves amid an injury crisis at the club. An appearance off the bench would have made him the club’s youngest ever player - a record currently held by Peter Lorimer as 15 years and 289 days.

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Few expected Gray to actually come on, and he didn’t, but the teenager had been regularly involved with the first-team in training and a surprise introduction against one of the Premier League’s best teams would not have phased him.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Gray told the Athletic when asked if he would have been ready to play. “From 14 or 15, I felt like I could start training and playing with the older ages, to get myself up towards the first team. From a young age, I felt good and I had trust in my ability. There wasn’t any trepidation (in joining the first-team under Bielsa), no.

“A lot changed. I was out of school quite a bit and training with the first team most days, really happy to be around it. The intensity of the football compared to under-21s was different. I wouldn’t say I really struggled with it but it was definitely more intense. I noticed that straight away, but I was fit and I found it OK.

“The sessions with Marcelo, they were so good. People know how tough they were because a lot was said about it at the time but I took so much from him. As hard as it was, and all the running you did, some of what I learned was priceless.”

After another season on the edge of first-team football - helped in no part by the injury suffered in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa - Gray finally made his senior debut on the opening day of this season against Cardiff City. And it’s been a breeze ever since, or at least it has looked like it as the teenager switched from central midfield to right-back through his 44 appearances.

Now 18, and having committed himself to the club until 2028 in January, Gray is a mainstay in Daniel Farke’s side and will almost certainly walk out as part of the starting line-up for Sunday’s Championship play-off final clash against Southampton. Against Norwich last week, he produced one of his best performances of the season as Leeds cruised to a 4-0 semi-final second-leg win.

Images of Gray in the middle of a post-match huddle after full-time did the rounds on social media and reflect the youngster’s growing influence, with club captain Liam Cooper recently naming him among a group showing leadership qualities during this most crucial part of the season. Both will hope to lead United to victory over Southampton on Sunday and an instant return to the Premier League.