'Everything you want' - Leeds United hero Gordon Strachan opens up on Elland Road breakout teen

Gray has enjoyed a breakthrough season of senior football at Elland Road, even if it ended in tears at Wembley. The 18-year-old had been on the cusp of first team involvement under both Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch, but his tender age and then injuries and illness delayed his ascent from Under 21s action. Under Daniel Farke, Gray was blooded into the Championship from the off and played 44 of the 46 league fixtures - starting 40 of them.

But what made Gray's debut campaign all the more impressive was that for 30 of his senior outings he featured in an unfamiliar and unnatural position at right-back, instead of in the centre of midfield. The way he adapted to the role was crucial for Leeds as they build a promotion charge that faltered at the last hurdle in the play-off final. But his performance in the middle of the park at Stamford Bridge against two £80m-plus opponents in Leeds' brave FA Cup defeat was arguably the standout highlight for the teen.

What he did on the pitch more than justified the talk that has surrounded him for years at Thorp Arch and Elland Road, talk that did not escape the attention of the club's former captain and Division One title winner Strachan.

"I've known about Archie and his brother for a long, long time," he told Prime Casino. "His brother is meant to be every bit as good as him. I know the Gray family very, very well. The Gray brothers have been on my radar because people I respect have told me about them; they’ve gone on and on about them. I’m thinking to myself, I’ve been hearing about how brilliant Archie could be since he was 12. Your natural instinct is to question what you’ve heard because everyone always tells you stories about this youngster who is 13 or 14 – all of my mates at school were going to be professionals too - but then I saw the boy play with my own eyes."

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The response to Gray's emergence as a genuine talent prompted an inevitable deluge of praise and yet more hype. Regardless of his family name or the club heritage that belongs to it, Gray was a standout performer in the second tier of English football and a name on many lips. Boss Farke was keen to keep a lid on the excitement, even in praising Gray himself, and repeatedly pointed out that his young star still had much to learn.

Strachan has been impressed, and though he refuses to get completely carried away, he has seen enough to justify the suggestion that Gray will be a name on the lips of Premier League recruitment teams. "Wow," he said. "It doesn’t matter where you put him, he can play there. He hasn’t been brilliant in every single game, but then that’s what you would expect from an 18-year-old. He’s a fantastic prospect. I like his intelligence. He's got the ability to play in different positions. This guy has got everything you want from a prospect. I can see why there are a lot of Premier League clubs that would like to take him."