Liverpool are set to win the race for Demarai Gray
Tottenham and Liverpool have both been linked with Leicester City winger Demarai Gray for weeks. Fortunately for Spurs, it seems that Liverpool are going to win the race for the inconsistent English winger.
The Mirror is reporting that Jurgen Klopp is ready to meet Gray’s full release clause of £12 million. It will provide the Foxes with a tidy profit. They only paid £3.5 million to bring in Gray last season. Frankly, he hasn’t been able to provide the club as much impact as they expected.
Gray’s talent is obvious. When you watch him play you can see how dangerous his pace and creativity can be for the opposition. The challenge for him is trying to find a way to utilize that talent on a consistent basis.
His statistics on the season clearly show he’s been unable to do that this year. Gray’s made 29 Premier League appearances but has only managed one goal and three assists. His Whoscored.com player rating average of 6.45 further illustrates his mediocre play.
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Liverpool are making a rather modest bet on Gray’s potential. It’s hard to see how he’ll make a real impact early on in Klopp’s side. It’s not as if the Reds are short on attacking talent. The likes of Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Gigi Wijnaldum provide the club plenty of offensive firepower.
Proponents of the move will correctly point out that £12 million isn’t a sizable transfer fee for a young, talented English player. It’s certainly possible that Gray could blossom under Klopp. If he were to fully realize his talent, it would represent great transfer business.
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Even so, as a Tottenham fan I’m glad to see Liverpool make this deal instead of Spurs. Gray doesn’t seem like the sort of player that’s going to thrive under a pressing manager like Klopp or Mauricio Pochettino. It’s very possible Gray’s arrival at Anfield will see him struggle mightily to find regular playing time. If he couldn’t become a regular starter at Leicester City, I fail to see where he’ll be able to achieve such a role at Liverpool.