Birmingham City will have to pay a fee of around £8 million to stand any chance of bringing winger Demarai Gray back to the club, according to Give Me Sport.
The 28-year-old rose through the ranks at St Andrew’s, making his debut in 2013. He became a regular throughout the 2014/15 campaign, which saw him start to attract interest from the Premier League.
In January 2016, Leicester City met the then 19-year-old’s £3.7 million release clause. He then played a small role in the Foxes historic Premier League triumph before going on to make 169 appearances for the club.
A transfer to Bayer Leverkusen followed in 2021, but his time in the Bundesliga was short lived and he was soon back in the Premier League, this time with Everton. However, after falling out of favour, he was allowed to move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq at the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign for a fee of £10 million.
Gray Set For England Return
After two stellar years with his current employers, it appears as if Gray has set his heart on a return to England. It is claimed that Birmingham are keen to bring their former academy graduate back to the club.
The Blues have made contact with Ettifaq and have been told they would need to pay £8 million to acquire his services. However, it is unclear as to whether the Jamaican international would be willing to drop down to the Championship.
The report states that Sunderland were keen on the attacker in the past, hinting they could now reignite that interest following their promotion to the Premier League. Serie A outfit Fiorentina are also amongst his admirers and have submitted a loan offer.
Gray still has two years remaining of the four-year deal he signed in 2023.
Writer’s View
Demarai Gray’s public fallout with then-Everton manager took the shine off his spell at Goodison Park, leaving him to reignite his career in Saudi Arabia. He has more than achieved that but clearly feels he has unfinished business back home. A return to Birmingham would be a romantic one and it will be interesting to see if he is willing to drop back down to the Championship or accept an offer from a club likely to be fighting at the wrong end of the Premier League. His former club believe they can challenge for promotion next season and will need to convince him that they will be a top tier club themselves in 12 months time.
