Bayer Leverkusen ‘genuinely pleased’ for Everton winger Demarai Gray
German side Bayer Leverkusen are ‘genuinely pleased’ for Everton winger Demarai Gray, according to reports from The Athletic.
The 25-year-old joined Everton in the summer transfer window from Leverkusen for a paltry fee of £1.7million, less than six months after arriving for the same sum from Leicester City.
Gray failed to make an impact at the German club, but they are really happy that he is doing a tremendous job under Rafael Benitez in Merseyside.
Benitez, working on a tight budget in the summer, took a gamble on Gray and tweaked the squad to his taste he inherited from Carlo Ancelotti.
The report claims that Bayer liked him a lot, and the German club are still “mildly puzzled” why he failed to perform for them.
Big impact
Eyebrows were raised in the summer when Benitez signed Gray and Andros Townsend, with the latter joining on a free transfer.
The club’s ambitions were questioned, and doubts were raised (albeit on social media) by a section of fans over Benitez’s ability to attract quality players in the transfer market.
However, the 25-year-old has settled in nicely at his new club, and he (and Townsend) has made a huge impact already for the Toffees.
Gray has scored three goals already this season, with Benitez hailing him as a “quality” player.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure currently out injured, Benitez will hope that the likes of Gray and Townsend will take more responsibilities going forward.
Hopefully, this run can become a consistent feature of his game and Gray can go down as a similar bargain to the likes of Seamus Coleman at Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, this Toffees defender is being watched very close with a major exit on the cards