Leicester are rushing things with Demarai Gray

Leicester have done well to win the race for Birmingham’s Demarai Gray but rushing him into the first team would be a big mistake

Winning the race to purchase Birmingham’s Demarai Gray is a terrific coup for Leicester. It may be the first tangible effect of their fairy tale season. However, their plan to bring Gray straight into their first team could really stunt the player’s development.

The Mirror is reporting that the Foxes have beaten off interest from several Premier League clubs to acquire Gray’s services. What makes it even better is that they’ll reportedly only need to pay 3.75 million pounds to activate his release clause. Getting a player of Gray’s significant talent for under four million pounds is grand larceny in today’s market.

All of that is great news for fans of Claudio Ranieri’s side. The troubling aspect of this deal is the detail that Leicester has pledged to bring Gray right into their first team setup. Gray is a supreme talent, but to say that he’s raw would be quite an understatement.

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I’m not sure he’s ready to impact any Premier League team at this point in his career, but I know he isn’t ready for a title race. As much as Leicester’s management loves to protest their participation in the title race, they’re definitely in it. Their margin of error in that competition is tiny and giving Gray significant minutes would exceed that minuscule margin.

In truth, Gray hasn’t been all that impressive in the Championship this season. He’s only managed to score one goal and tally one assist in 24 appearances for Birmingham this season. He hasn’t looked out-of-place for the club, but the facts are he hasn’t provided much end product. It would be unfair to expect him to come into the Foxes setup and add anything significant.

Rushing Gray wouldn’t only harm Leicester’s standing in the Premier League table, it could also harm the player’s individual development. Nothing can mess up a talented young player’s development like throwing them into the Premier League before they’re ready. It’s a bit like throwing a player into the ocean when you know full well they can’t swim.

I suspect that promising to put Gray directly into the first team setup may have been a key negotiating point that allowed Leicester to win the player over. The Foxes may have been willing to agree to put Gray into the first team to make sure they could beat out the interest from other clubs. If so, I can begrudgingly accept their risking the short-term health of both player and club for what could potentially be a huge long-term gain.

Leicester fans should be quite proud that their club has managed to beat out the rest of the Premier League to win the services of Demarai Gray. I just hope they show patience enough to make sure Gray is able to reach his star potential.

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