Despite only winning one of their last six fixtures, Leeds United are in a strong position in the Premier League with double the points of 18th-place Burnley.
However, unless they get back to winning ways, they will be dragged into the relegation battle. Ahead of their clash with Tottenham, Daniel Farke spoke to the media about his team’s season and preparation for the game.
The conference came with bad news for Leeds fans, with confirmation that both Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto will be unavailable. Additionally, goalkeeper Lucas Perri is back in team training, but the game against Thomas Frank’s side comes too soon for him to be available. James is the more severe of the three injuries, with the Welshman expected to be out until after the November international break.
All three players will be big losses for Farke against Spurs. However, the Leeds boss seemed positive going into the game, due to players “stepping up when needed”. Another reason Farke may be happy is that he knows the fans will soon receive news that will bolster their spirits.
Leeds set to unveil new contract
Leeds are preparing to announce a new contract for 16-year-old talent Harry Gray. Gray is highly rated by the club and is currently developing well as a forward, having represented Leeds at youth level and once at senior level with a four-minute cameo against Stoke in the Championship. Gray has also impressed at national youth level, where he has represented the England Under-17s on five occasions, scoring once.
Journalist Graham Bailey revealed the news that Gray would imminently have a contract announcement: “Leeds are very excited with Harry Gray. His new deal is done. They’ll be announcing that next week. They are very excited by that internally, obviously.”
However, despite the new contract, it may be a while before Gray is seen in the senior team, and he almost certainly won’t face his brother Archie Gray when Leeds play Tottenham on Saturday.
Gray’s route to the first team
Ahead of the season, The Athletics Beren Cross predicted Gray to be Leeds’ “breakout player”. Cross stated that Gray could start putting in performances this season despite his age and emulate strikers like Harry Kane and Michael Owen.
Despite the hype and positive contract news, Leeds fans will have to wait to see Gray’s Premier League debut, as, in his pre-match press conference, Farke confirmed that the 16-year-old was suffering a minor issue with his hip.
The other concern is that Gray plays up front and Leeds brought in two new strikers this summer, making him fourth in the pecking order behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe.
The good news for Gray is that none of these players have hit the season running, so if he continues to perform well in training and stay fit, Farke may try him up front at some stage in the season.
Even if Gray’s appearances are sporadic this season, at 16 years old, he has plenty of time ahead of him to develop and earn his place in the starting 11.
