Garth Crooks left impressed with Demarai Gray performance in Everton v Leeds
Everton were held to a 2-2 draw by Leeds United at Elland Road at the weekend, and Demarai Gray had an impressive game as he bagged a goal.
The 25-year-old English attacking midfielder opened his official account for the Toffees with a fine strike that briefly helped restore the visitors’ lead, and Rafa Benitez would have been pleased with his performance.
BBC pundit Garth Crooks was too, showering praise on the Toffees attacker and including him in his Team of the Week column.
He wrote on the website: “As for Everton, I think they are very lucky to have got Rafa Benitez so soon as manager after losing Carlo Ancelotti.
“The Spaniard has brought in winger Gray, who looked electric against Leeds and is a real talent.”
Electric
That is the perfect word to describe Gray’s performance on Saturday, and capping it with a crucial goal was wonderful.
No one has ever doubted the talents of the former England youth international.
It is his ability to produce the goods every week that continues to be questioned, and he needs to answer everyone after returning to the Premier League in the summer.
We signed him for Bayer Leverkusen for £1.5million and he is already an early contender for bargain of the summer.
Everton need Gray to deliver consistently, and for a player with less than 30 career goals to his name, it will be interesting to see whether he can do more in front of goal this season.
Benitez has deployed him as a number 10 since his arrival, and it appears playing behind the striker is getting the best out of him.
The Birmingham City academy graduate has what it takes to become a world-class player, and it is up to him to fulfil his potential after the Spanish manager handed him another opportunity to show what he can do in the Premier League.
In other Everton news, Rafa sees int’l sensation as ‘Perfect choice’ for Toffees, multi-million bid lodged.
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