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Gray signs and joins Everton team in the States

By Matt Townsend

LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - MARCH 14: Demarai Gray of Bayer 04 Leverkusen reacts during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DSC Arminia Bielefeld at BayArena on March 14, 2021 in Leverkusen, Germany. Sporting stadiums around Germany remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Friedemann Vogel - Pool/Getty Images)
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - MARCH 14: Demarai Gray of Bayer 04 Leverkusen reacts during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DSC Arminia Bielefeld at BayArena on March 14, 2021 in Leverkusen, Germany. Sporting stadiums around Germany remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Friedemann Vogel - Pool/Getty Images) /
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As expected Demarai Gray has signed for Everton having agreed a two-year contract and has flown out to join his new team-mates in America.

Gray arrives in the States in time to take part in the Florida Cup competition that Everton are involved in as their pre-season preparations ramp up.

He will join two other new arrivals Asmir Begovic and Andros Townsend as Rafa Benitez’s first three additions.

None of these signings have been exactly headline-grabbing and will have left many Blues fans underwhelmed for sure.

And if the Toffees were in for a Bayer Leverkusen wide man, most Evertonians would have been thinking of Leon Bailey long rumoured to be on the club’s radar.

On the other hand Townsend has come on a free and Gray, a young player with plenty still to prove, has cost a paltry £1.5 million, which is today’s transfer market is an absolute snip.

And even though he wasn’t brilliant in Germany, in half a season Gray has still matched Alex Iwobi’s goal and assists tally for the whole of the last campaign and Iwobi cost £30 million!

If both are even half decent and provide some much-needed additional attacking flair the Toffees certainly need, they will have done well for that sort of cost.

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The ex-Birmingham and Leicester City winger Gray has lost his way a bit in football terms recently.

But he’s player who was once touted as a possible star and has the pace and ability to be good quality Premier League footballer.

Statistically anyway, the 25-year-old seems best suited to coming on as a substitute as according to Whoscored.com in that role he scored his only goal for Bayer Leverkusen and added those two assists in six appearances last season.

Perhaps that’s how he will play for Everton as an option to have coming off the bench using his pace and dribbling ability to unlock a defence late on in games.

Certainly the Blues need a big injection of pace and so he might well offer a necessary additional weapon whether that’s from the start or not.

At any rate he is a player who if he can recapture his past potential might still be a good, effective player and perhaps a bit of a positive surprise.

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