Daniel Farke has revealed that he is dissatisfied with England Under-19s’ use of Leeds prodigy Archie Gray for 90 minutes three times during the international break.
Gray has been a mainstay in Farke’s Whites lineup this season in the Championship, and he played 90 minutes in all three games for the young Three Lions during the most recent international break.
And the Leeds manager confessed that he had to cancel Gray’s Thursday training session so he could recover, and he questioned why England was using him so much because he’s already playing consistently at club level.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay reported what Farke stated about Gray’s usage in a thread on Twitter (19 October) and disclosed that he didn’t train with the rest of the team on Thursday but is still in contention for the game against Norwich on Saturday.
Facts
At the Under-19 level, players normally acquire the majority of their minutes when they play with the national team because it is uncommon for someone so young to play so often at a high level.
But, for the time being, Grey is certainly one of the first names on the team sheet in central midfield alongside Ethan Ampadu, and that amount of regular games is undoubtedly more helpful for him than playing in friendlies for England Under-19s.
Gray should play less so that he may be fresh for Leeds until he reaches a more competitive level for England, which would certainly benefit him as well.
With the amount of first-team football he has already seen, there was no reason for him to play 90 minutes three times a week during the international break.
Farke is attempting to protect him, and if the FA are wise, they will listen to him and begin to apply his advice in the future, since it will only benefit them more in the long run.
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