View: Tuchel must be having a laugh as 88% gem's Tottenham excellence counts for nothing

Thomas Tuchel has overlooked Archie Gray in his latest England squad, despite the youngster’s continued excellence for Tottenham Hotspur.

While the Lilywhites may be struggling this season, Gray is one of only a few players able to hold his head up high.

The 20-year-old has been used in five different positions under two different Tottenham bosses this season and has done a job pretty much every time.

And yet there was no room for Gray in Tuchel’s squad on Friday for the upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, despite the German calling up a massive 35 players.

Gray’s immediate focus will be on Tottenham’s massive showdown with Nottingham Forest, but he will not be linking up with England’s senior squad after that.

Archie Gray more than deserving of England call – here’s why

Gray is predominantly a central midfielder, where he thrived when breaking through at Leeds United at a very young age.

However, he is also capable of slotting into defence and is just as comfortable playing at full-back as he is in a more advanced central role.

As can be seen in the table above, Gray has mainly been used as a pure defensive midfielder under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor combined.

The fact he jumps around positions can skew his stats somewhat, but he certainly passes the eye test for those who watch him regularly.

Gray has assisted three goals in his past five appearances, adding some tangible merits to his game, including the assist for Xavi Simmons’ opener against Atletico Madrid in midweek.

Despite being on the losing side, Gray was particularly impressive in the recent Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace.

As per Sofascore, Gray was easily the highest-rated Spurs player on the day (7.6/10) as he registered one key pass and also recorded four clearances, showing he is capable of both sides of the game.

Gray made history in Tottenham win over Atletico Madrid

Gray has made 77 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions since arriving in the 2024 summer transfer window, scoring two goals and bagging three assists.

The most recent of those appearances came against Atletico on Wednesday, with that his seventh start in the Champions League.

That saw him overtake Dele Alli (six) with the most starts in the competition for a Spurs player before the age of 21.

He also moved up to fourth on the list of youngest English players to assist a goal in UEFA’s showpiece competition.

Gray’s performance against Atletico was impressive, completing 88 per cent of his passes on the day, and given his age, it surely makes sense to get him involved in the England set-up early on.

Tuchel is blessed with options, but not many can match the drive shown by Gray – and indeed the versatility, which any manager would love.

Gray not being involved in the World Cup, from a selfish point of view, would be a positive for Tottenham’s next manager.

But there is no a Spurs fan that would not be delighted for the youngster should be get a call-up before the showpiece event this summer.

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