Sports Mole takes a look at which shirt numbers Archie Gray could wear at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of his £40m move from Leeds United.
Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be on the brink of making their first signing of the summer window, as they close in on a deal to capture 18-year-old Leeds United protege Archie Gray.
The 2006-born starlet – who is effective as both a right-back and central midfielder – attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City last season, where he made 52 appearances and played a crucial role in Leeds’ run to the Championship playoff final.
However, a summer switch to a more modest destination in Brentford was seemingly on the cards at first, only for that £40m deal to collapse, allowing Tottenham to hijack their London rivals’ move.
Gray’s transfer to Tottenham is expected to fetch a similar fee, albeit through a slightly different method, as the 18-year-old is set to arrive for around £30m while the £10m-rated Joe Rodon heads back to Elland Road as part of the deal.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at which shirt numbers Gray could take at Tottenham, where he will sign a six-year deal until 2030.
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A frequent number swapper during his time in the Leeds United youth system, Gray spent the 2023-24 campaign as the Whites’ number 22, although that jersey is currently in the possession of Brennan Johnson at Tottenham.
However, as both Richarlison (number nine) and Bryan Gil (number 11) are being tipped to leave in the current window, there is every chance that Johnson could be promoted to a higher number for the 2024-25 campaign, potentially opening the 22 for Gray to take.
That shirt has not traditionally been associated with celebrated names at Tottenham, although it was in Robbie Keane‘s possession for the 2002-03 season, while Vedran Corluka also donned it for a few years.
Alternatively, Gray might wish to take the ’18’ that he has worn for England’s Under-21s, a shirt which currently bears Giovani Lo Celso‘s name at Tottenham, but it is surely only a matter of time before the out-of-favour Argentine leaves the club.
Should Gray indeed inherit Lo Celso’s number 18 shirt, he would also be sporting the shirt that Harry Kane wore during his breakthrough 2014-15 campaign, prior to which it was donned by fellow Englishman Jermain Defoe.
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The 18-year-old has been no stranger to the iconic midfielder’s ‘8’ at youth level for club and country too, but Yves Bissouma holds that shirt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and should not be giving it up anytime soon.
Alternatively, Gray could choose to go back to an old favourite – albeit an unorthodox one – with the number 63, a jersey he frequently wore for Leeds’ Under-21s and one worn by just three Spurs players in the past, most recently Jamie Donley.
In terms of available numbers, Gray could be bestowed with the traditional right-back’s number two shirt – without a taker since Matt Doherty left the club – while 14, 15 and 19 have also been freed up by recent exits.
As Gray’s arrival could trigger a couple of midfield exits, the 18-year-old could also have the choice of the number four – currently worn by Oliver Skipp – or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg‘s ‘5’, although more senior players should be first in line for those shirts.