Unnamed Premier League club battles Crystal Palace to sign Everton ace Demarai Gray – Alan Myers
An unnamed Premier League side, along with Crystal Palace and Al Hilal, are interested in signing Everton forward Demarai Gray, according to Sky Sports journalist Alan Myers.
Gray joined Everton in 2021 for a reported £1.7million from Bayer Leverkusen [BBC Sport] and has been a regular at Goodison Park, pitching in 12 goals in his first two seasons.
However, the 27-year-old Jamaican international could be set for a move to a new Premier League side as Everton look to raise funds for new signings.
Sell
Everton reportedly wants £12million to let Gray leave the club [Daily Mail], with South London side Crystal Palace the seeming front-runners for his signature.
Palace are in real need of attacking reinforcements this window. Talisman Wilfried Zaha is yet to decide his future following the expiration of his contract and is reportedly weighing up offers from the likes of PSG, Napoli and Al-Nassr, [The Guardian] while Palace themselves have tabled a £200,000 per week offer to retain his services [Daily Mail].
With Jordan Ayew also tipped for a move to Saudi Arabia [Ghana Soccernet], Palace may push hard for the Everton man. If not, the mystery Premier League side may also be keen on his services and challenge Palace and Al Hilal.
However, if the Toffees can collect a strong £12million for Gray, then it may be a deal too good to turn down, especially considering that they paid less than £2million for him two summers ago.
Sean Dyche does not seem to regard Gray as indispensable as the Jamaican was benched for many games towards the end of last season, despite Everton’s struggles in front of goal.
Everton too are reportedly unable to increase their bid for Almeria striker El Bilal Toure [GIVEMESPORT], so a sale in the attacking department now may suit the Toffees perfectly.
His stats are quite dismal reading too, finding himself in the 8th percentile for non-penalty goals and the 28th for successful take-ons [FBRef].
However, no one looked like a world-beater for Everton last season, so if the club can capitalise on his past success and earn a substantial fee for him, they will look to reinvest this to bring other targets.
In other Everton news, one of the Toffees’ striker targets has been linked with a move to a Bundesliga giant.