Daniel Farke reveals 'outstanding' Leeds United teenager opinion as manager makes press room plea

Gray’s long-awaited senior debut did not disappoint as the youngster performed admirably alongside Ethan Ampadu in central midfield last Sunday. The teenager was voted Leeds fans’ Player of the Match, despite teammate Crysencio Summerville registering a goal and an assist in the score draw with the Bluebirds.

At full-time, Gray was approached by senior midfield presence Tyler Adams, who is currently out injured and the subject of reported £20 million transfer interest from Chelsea. The USMNT skipper spoke with Leeds’ midfield prodigy, offering guidance, while manager Farke also had words with the academy graduate after the final whistle.

The German is keen to keep Gray grounded, however, and has so far been reluctant to praise the youngster too highly.

"I don't like to praise young lads too early,” Farke said in his pre-match press conference last week. “I think in our generation it's a bit of a problem because there are so early superstars.

"He’s played a really good pre-season. I've spoken about his development. I'm happy with him but before he has played a proper amount of games I'm not willing to sing the high praise of Archie Gray because I don't think it's healthy.”

Following the 2-2 draw with Cardiff, Farke was again asked for his thoughts on Gray’s performance.

"You know my attitude, I'm careful to praise my young lads too much,” he began.

“If you promise me that no one tells Archie what I have said, I can tell you that.

"He was outstanding today, you have to keep in mind, first game of the season, sold out Elland Road, first time more or less that he is in the starting line-up, to deliver such a mature performance.

"Also, the story of the game was not that easy, but I think he wasn't perfect. There was sometimes slight mistakes in his positioning, also in his passing but overall, I think it was for such a young lad, a really top class performance.

"I think he can be pretty pretty proud tonight of this, together with his family. But yeah, from tomorrow on he has to keep his head down and keep on working,” Farke added.

Gray is in line to feature again this week as Leeds take on Shrewsbury in the Carabao Cup First Round, before visiting St. Andrews’ Stadium this weekend against Birmingham City. At such a tender age, though, Leeds will need to monitor the youngster’s minutes so not to overload him while still developing physically.

"It was an absolute pleasure to make my debut at Elland Road in a full house of fans,” Gray said on Sunday evening. “Thank you very much for the support but next time let’s get the win. Thank you,” the youngster added in a video shared with supporters on social media.