Lille submit loan bid to sign Demarai Gray as offer tabled to Everton
Ligue 1 side Lille have submitted a loan offer to Everton for attacker Demarai Gray, which could be completed in “the coming hours” according to L’Équipe.
The French outlet reported (1 September) that, in “one of the surprises of this last day”, Lille have sent a “paid loan offer” to the Toffees and hopes to finalise the move quickly.
The 27-year-old has been expected to leave this summer amid interest from Saudi Arabian sides.
Surprise move
While interest from Saudi Arabia was significant, a sudden loan bid from a top French side was an unexpected deadline-day twist for Toffees fans.
The attacker was expected to depart this summer to Al Shabab, with Fabrizio Romano claiming (27 August) that Everton and the Saudi side had reached an agreement a week prior, but that progress on the deal had slowed.
However, while his wages may not be as high as in Saudi, Gray may be tempted to leave a likely relegation-battling side in the Toffees for the chance to play for one of Ligue 1’s top sides.
Lille secured their spot in the Europa Conference League last night (31 August) after a 2-1 aggregate victory over Croatian side HNK Rijeka, so that gives the Jamaican extra incentive to depart.
While L’Équipe does not suggest how much Everton would receive from the loan, it would likely be less than what Al Shabab would offer, meaning financially for the Toffees, this offer is not as appealing.
However, Gray’s time at Goodison Park looks to be over. Toffees fans will be keeping an eye out before the end of the window to see where the former Leicester City attacker ends up, France or Saudi.
In other Everton news, the Toffees could miss out on a Championship striker amid rival interest.