Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli has admitted that Tottenham’s 20-year-old England Under-21 international is one of two Premier League players he wants to talk into an allegiance switch, and he isn’t prepared to wait forever.
Archie Gray is currently away with the England Under-21 squad, having come all the way through the national team age groups. Barring injury, he looks a good bet for Lee Carsley’s squad at the Under-21 European Championships next summer.
But a senior England place is far from guaranteed, and that’s where Scotland come in. Gray is eligible for both countries, and the Scottish connection runs deep: his father Andy played for Scotland at senior level, and so did his grandfather Frank and his great-uncle Eddie.
What did Pocognoli say about Archie Gray?
Pocognoli named Gray and Everton’s Hayden Hackney as the two players on his radar. Scotland have not been put off by their failure to convince Harvey Barnes to represent the Tartan Army under Steve Clarke, and the new boss was clear that he sees this pair differently.
Sebastien Pocognoli said: “With Barnes it was different. I knew before my first camp that he was different. The two other lads are young lads. It’s a long way. But if you wait too long, it might not be the right moment. In a year’s time, we will see.”
He was careful not to undermine the players already in his squad. “Right now, we have players in the squad who are performing well. It will always be up to them to be the priority,” he added. “Because we’ve built things and we’ve had time with the ones who are here right now. But we are on it. We are always proactive in all of these situations. What is very exciting about those two names is that they are young players. That’s interesting. We have to look and manage the situation.”
How Scotland plan to win Gray over
Hackney is a slightly different case. The Everton man made a couple of appearances for Scotland’s Under-21 side before going on to feature 13 times for England Under-21s, and at 24 he now has to decide which country he commits to.
Pocognoli’s pitch to both is simple: make Scotland a place players want to be. “The best way to convince players is to show good football, show them they can come to us, enjoy it and be successful,” he said. “They have to feel when they leave a top club that they arrive here into top conditions and a top environment. That’s the best publicity we can offer, to show good football.”
Spurs fans won’t need reminding that N17 already has a big Scottish presence this break, with left-back Andy Robertson chasing Kenny Dalglish’s Scotland caps record. You can see where the rest of Tottenham’s internationals are playing this break in our round-up.
Should Archie Gray choose Scotland?
Pocognoli is right about one thing: timing is everything. Gray is 20, still building his place at club level, and nobody should be rushing him into a decision that can only be made once. We looked at how De Zerbi has been using Gray in the Spurs midfield this week, and his international future will follow his club form, not the other way round.
Still, the family story makes this more than a raid on England’s youth ranks. Three generations of Grays have pulled on the Scotland shirt, and a clear path to senior football could weigh heavier than the hope of an England call that may never come. For now, England Under-21s and a summer tournament are his focus. If the senior call hasn’t come by this time next year, Scotland’s door will still be open, and Pocognoli has made sure Gray knows it.
