After 4,000 minutes across all competitions in his debut season, Gray was named EFL Championship Young Player of the Year, a month on from celebrating his 18th birthday. The Leeds midfielder has featured in the middle of the park as well as at right-back under Daniel Farke and was grateful for his double at the awards ceremony at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Gray also won EFL Championship Apprentice of the Year as Leeds teammate Crysencio Summerville was named Championship Player of the Year, and alongside Ethan Ampadu and Georginio Rutter in the Championship Team of the Year.
In winning the Young Player award, Gray joins an exclusive list of well-established stars of the modern game including former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and current ‘Galactico’ Jude Bellingham. Like Gray, the latter also notched Young Player of the Year and EFL Apprentice honours during the 2019/20 campaign.
Here is every winner since the award’s inception in 2006.
1. 2006 - David Nugent
20-year-old Nugent scored 10 goals in the Championship during 2005/06 as Preston North End made the play-offs.
2. 2007 - Gareth Bale
Welsh superstar Bale made a splash on the south coast with Southampton before earning a career-defining move to Tottenham Hotspur. The rest, as they say, is history.
3. 2008 - Michael Kightly
Wolves winger Kightly was the young man of the moment in 2007/08, clinching the Football League's Young Player of the Year award having worked his way up from non-league.
4. 2009 - Fabian Delph
Leeds youngster Delph made a name for himself in the Championship during 2008/09 and subsequently moved to Aston Villa.
5. 2010 - Nathaniel Clyne
The Crystal Palace full-back burst onto the scene towards the end of the 2000s and was named Football League Player of the Year in 2010.
6. 2011 - Connor Wickham
Wickham came through at Ipswich Town, announcing himself to the EFL at Portman Road with nine goals in the 2010/11 season.