Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton are interested in signing Demarai Gray from Leicester City, according to reports
According to the Mirror, Leicester City face the risk of losing their highly rated winger Demarai Gray for as little as £12 million, with Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton all said to be monitoring his situation.
Gray – who has already been linked with both Liverpool and Tottenham in the past – only joined Leicester in January last year for a reported fee of £3.7 million from Birmingham City signing a four-and-a-half year contract that currently ties him down with the club until June 2020.
However, the Mirror claim he is growing frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities and this will lead to him pushing for a move to a new club. Gray has made 21 appearances for Leicester in the English Premier League but only 6 of those have been starts for the 20-year old.
Gray is considered one of the more promising prospects in English football so Leicester will want to get as much as they can for him should he choose to move, however the Mirror claim that there is already a £12 million clause written into his contract which will leave them helpless in case some club comes swooping in for Gray.
A pacy, technically skilled player who is a constant threat when he runs at the defence, Gray is also a fine finisher who can play in a variety of positions across the front line, even being used as a forward on occasion.
This versatility will be a huge plus for all interested clubs and the fact that he is English and will help with the homegrown quota will factor into their interest in Gray, who has already represented the England U21 side.
Liverpool have a wealth of attacking options but the fact that Gray is 20, coupled with his pace, workrate and skill on the ball, he would fit right into Klopp’s philosophy of attacking football and high-intensity pressing.
Tottenham have assembled one of the finest young sides in the world and they have had a policy of signing English players over foreign players recently, which makes Gray an ideal target for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Everton are also looking to assemble a side that can break into the top 6 under Ronald Koeman and the finances of Farhad Moshiri will mean that the Blues can compete with Liverpool and Tottenham when it comes to meeting Gray’s release clause and contract demands.
Unless Gray is afforded more opportunities and assurances under new manager Craig Shakespeare, he could well choose to leave and there is no doubt that he will have plenty of suitors waiting for him.