Why Liverpool should sign 'the Trent Alexander-Arnold of Leeds'

Sam McGuire

• Updated: 15 Nov 2023 14:12 GMT
• 4 min read

If reports are to be believed, Liverpool are always in the mix for highly-rated youngsters catching the eye in England. The Reds were seemingly keen on Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham before the pair moved to Borussia Dortmund. They managed to sign Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho despite interest from top European clubs and they managed to add the in-demand Trey Nyoni to their ranks this summer.

So the fact they are in for Leeds United wonderkid Archie Gray should not come as a surprise. However, the fact they are interested in the 17-year-old despite him having a €46 million valuation is something of a shock.

According to the Daily Mail, the Reds are one of a number of teams to hold an interest in the versatile midfielder. Fabrizio Romano has since revealed Liverpool have watched Gray in action on multiple occasions. In an interview with CaughtOffside, he said: “They are not the only club as many teams appreciate him and keep tracking Archie, but for sure Liverpool are one of them. There’s no bid or concrete negotiation at this stage, but they appreciate the player.”

Leeds aren’t exactly in the best place to bargain, though. Gray’s current deal expires in 2025 and the youngster, at the time of writing, has just 1,190 minutes to his name in the Championship. He’s yet to score or assist in the English second tier. If we’re being brutally honest, the valuation is weighted towards potential rather than performances. They aren’t going to want to lose him for nothing in two years time though so a compromise is going to have to be found.

Gray is valued via FootballTransfers’ Player Valuation Model at €8.8m, so there’s some middle ground to be found between that and €46m.

How good is Archie Gray?

There’s a lot of potential there, so Leeds will be compensated properly. He’s already been likened to Trent Alexander-Arnold. Gray came through the ranks as a midfielder but has played as a right-back in the first-team this term.

There’s a lot to like about the Leeds No22 as a player. For example, he ranks extremely well for pressing. A must-have for all players in the modern game. Data analytics experts SciSports particularly rate his defensive contributions too. He is also winning close to 50% of his duels in the league.

In possession, he’s more than tidy. Gray has found a teammate with 84% of his passes this season in the Championship. He’s composed under pressure and has good vision in those deeper parts of the pitch. One thing to note here though is that he is extremely one-footed right now - he’s heavily right-footed.

He is a strong carrier of the ball, completing almost 60% of his attempted dribbles. So you have a highly athletic teenager who can pass the ball as well as carry it. He’s competent in deeper roles and at ease when in the opposition’s half. It is little wonder so many Premier League clubs are keeping an eye on his situation at Elland Road.

Gray isn’t anywhere near as creative as Alexander-Arnold yet with an Expected Assists average in the Championship of just 0.01 per 90 but output is tied to the system the player is being used in. Leeds might not necessarily need their full-backs to be creative outlets whereas Liverpool task their No66 with pulling the strings.

Given how versatile he is at such a young age, it is hard to see how a move for Gray wouldn’t work out in the long run.

If Liverpool are serious about adding the best young talents to their squad, they should be at the front of the queue for Gray.