Foreign club delegates to land in UK to negotiate sale of £17.1m Everton ace

Everton will have to work round the clock to generate funds by selling players. The fragile financial condition will not allow the Toffees to spend freely in the transfer market unless they sell players. EFC winger Demarai Gray has been attracting interest and his sale could potentially give the Merseysiders some financial boost.

Manager Sean Dyche constantly preferred Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi on the flanks. Under Dyche, Gray has hardly played on the wings, with a majority of his appearances coming as a central attacker in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Jamaican winger is low down the pecking order because he isn’t able to offer the desired physicality to Dyche.

Gray was signed in the summer of 2021, arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for just £1.7 million. In two seasons, the former Leicester City man has gone onto make 75 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists. The 26 year old was Everton’s third highest goal getter in the Premier League, scoring four goals.

Al Hilal to meet Everton for Demarai Gray this week

Earlier this month, Gray was linked with a move to Fulham. The Cottagers enquired about Gray’s availability as a number of clubs are tracking the former Leicester winger. Now, Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal have shown interest in the 26 year old speedster, as per reports from Daily Mail. According to Sky Sports, a delegation from Al Hilal is expected to fly to London this week to carry out negotiations for Gray.

Thanks to the PIF backing, four Saudi clubs – Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad are looking to sign some of the top names from Europe. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly are some of the names that have already made a move to Saudi Arabia.

Gray is valued at £17.1 million by Transfermarkt and EFC will look to get a similar fee from Al Hilal if the sale is to take place. His current deal at Goodison Park expires in 2024 so the Saudi Pro League club could bring down the asking price but Everton could still generate substantial money from his sale.

If the Jamaican is sold, EFC will have to look for a winger in the transfer market as Everton will be left with just two wide players. Andros Townsend will also leave as a free agent and Gray’s sale could leave the Toffees scarce in depth on flanks.

Should EFC sell Demarai Gray?