The 17-year-old could be the man to fill Adams’ void.
Leeds United could be without Tyler Adams for the rest of the season due to injury, in what would represent a huge blow to Javi Gracia‘s hopes of leading the Yorkshire outfit to safety.
What’s the latest on Tyler Adams’ injury?
The USA international would pick up a hamstring injury in the warm-up ahead of the 4-2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in March and has been sidelined ever since.
It was hoped that the former RB Leipzig man, who has established himself as a hugely influential player in Leeds’ midfield this season, would return ahead of the campaign’s end in order to aid the club’s fight against relegation.
However, in the build-up to Leeds’ defeat against Fulham at the weekend, the Athletic’s Phil Hay provided a worrying update on the 24-year-old.
He wrote: “Patrick Bamford has a chance of being back in the squad after injury but there’s still no Tyler Adams. It looks increasingly unlikely that he’ll be back before the season ends.”
Given that no player in Gracia’s squad has averaged more tackles this season, while only two players have a higher average rating according to WhoScored, the midfielder will certainly be a big miss if he is out for the remainder of the campaign.
Who could replace Adams at Leeds?
Unfortunately for Gracia, he is not blessed with many senior options in his midfield, with Marc Roca and Weston McKennie both struggling for form as a midfield duo, as is emphasised by how often they have been overwhelmed in the last three fixtures.
When asked about who could replace Adams after he initially picked up his injury, Gracia said:
“Darko [Gyabi] is one option, the same with another young player as well, Archie. These are the players [who] are usually training with us in that position.
“Now we have Marc [Roca], Weston [McKennie], Darko [and] Archie [who] are the players. They usually train as midfielders and we have to take the decision for the next games, if Tyler is out, to choose the best option for us.”
However, he hasn’t trusted either Gray or Darko Gyabi to play at all recently, and after a third successive defeat to Fulham at the weekend, he should surely consider giving Gray a chance.
The 17-year-old has contributed an impressive one goal and three assists in eight Premier League 2 appearances this term and is clearly on the radar of Gracia if he is featuring in first-team training.
After he agreed to a professional contract at Elland Road, the versatile midfielder earned plenty of praise, notably from TEAMtalk editor James Marshment on Twitter.
He said: “Great to see Archie Gray tied down, an unreal talent who has every chance at making it big. The Gray legacy at Leeds now very much into its third generation.”
Given the lack of options available to Leeds right now and their poor recent form, surely it is time that Gray is given his chance to shine in the Premier League, in the hope that he can ease the blow of Adams being out for the remainder of 2022/23.
