Tottenham among teams pursuing Demarai Gray
By Ryan Wrenn
Tottenham’s transfer window remains among the quietest in all of Europe, but that doesn’t stop the rumor mill.
Leicester City’s Demarai Gray is the latest winger to be linked with Tottenham, and certainly won’t be the last. Unlike Thomas Lemar or even Suso, Gray is a bit of an unknown. Just what would Spurs hypothetically get out of the Leicester man?
While the Sun’s reporting suggests that both Tottenham and Liverpool are hunting for the young Englishman’s signature — while Leicester also reportedly wants to keep hold of him — there really isn’t much to go off of here.
To date he’s only managed 11 starts with the Foxes along with 36 substitute appearances in both the Premier League and Champions League. Despite ostensibly featuring in Leicester’s attack, Gray has only managed one goal and four assists over those appearances.
Even prior to his mid-season move from Birmingham there wasn’t a whole lot to suggest that Gray was a star on the rise. He scored only six goals and notched one assist in 41 appearances for Birmingham in his one complete season with the Championship club.
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Still, Gray is only 21 and there is something to be said for potential. It also doesn’t help that he hasn’t been given any opportunity to find a rhythm at Leicester thanks to the presence of Riyah Mahrez, Marc Albighton and Ahmed Musa. The former two were favorite of former coach Claudio Ranieri, and the club spent decent money bringing Musa from CSKA Moscow last summer.
So perhaps Spurs and Liverpool are merely hoping to broker a cheap deal for an English player who might be able to feature in a backup capacity. Maybe he earns a couple cup games, and with time might even develop into a decently good utility player.
The problem, of course, is that Gray leaving Leicester might not be good for the player or the club.
Why, one might ask, would Gray move from a club where he’s getting no minutes to one of two other clubs which will also not grant him guarenteed minutes. He would be better off moving back to the Championship, or perhaps to one of the many Premier League teams in need of attacking talent.
Of which, it might so happen, Leicester could be included. Should Mahrez actually leave the club, there will suddenly be a lot more minutes available for Gray to earn his keep. While no concrete links have surfaced suggesting a move for the Algerian is imminent, it still appears likely that he will find a new home sometime in the next seven weeks.
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All of which inflate Gray’s price and thus put off both Liverpool and Tottenham from taking a punt on the player.
So, in sum, don’t expect Gray in lilywhites anytime soon.