Carlton Cole left baffled as Tottenham continue to crash prodigious sensation’s ‘dreams’

Archie Gray has been one of the rare bright sparks in an otherwise sorry season for Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur fans will want to forget the ongoing season as quickly as possible, unless they win the Europa League trophy.

Ange Postecoglou has had to tackle an injury crisis that disrupted the entire campaign and didn’t allow them to get any sort of momentum whatsoever in the Premier League. The Lilywhites’ defence were hit by several injury problems, with the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero spending months on the sidelines. Ben Davies has also been out for some time with a hamstring injury, while Radu Dragusin is out for the foreseeable future with an ACL damage.

This has led to Ange Postecoglou constantly chopping and changing personnel at the back, trying to find a settled unit to stem the flow of goals. He had to opt for makeshift solutions, and this saw young Archie Gray operate in defence.

A highly-rated midfield talent, Archie Gray has been compelled to play across the Tottenham backline in his debut season in North London. He has played in central defence and both full-back positions to fill in for the injured stars, demonstrating his distinctive versatility during the team’s rough phase. He has made an eye-catching 40 appearances in his maiden season for Spurs thus far.

Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, former West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has been discussing the situation of Archie Gray at Spurs this season, and he’s been left utterly puzzled. He struggled to understand the fact that the teenager has been operating at centre-half as when he coached him at youth level at England Under-17s, he was actually playing as a striker.

It is true that the North Londoners signed Gray from Leeds United last year to enhance the quality of their midfield unit. But, the England Under-21 international has barely had chances to showcase his talent in the middle of the park for Ange’s side, and this is purely down to the squad being stretched due to injuries.

The chaotic season at White Hart Lane has simply not allowed him to develop. And as the midfield unit was less ravaged by injuries in comparison to the defence and attack, the Durham-born starlet did not play much in his natural position as he would have liked to.

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Looking from a different perspective, though, Gray should be happy that he has got opportunities to feature regularly for Spurs, even if largely his game time have come from the backline. This experience would help him further down the line when bigger challenges will pop up in front of him and the team.

Come next season, Gray would look to nail down a place in the middle of the park.