The Scout Report: Demarai Gray

Liverpool haven’t been linked with many other players since Naby Keita was drawn into the spotlight, though yesterday Everton marked their interest in Leicester winger Demarai Gray, who has been on Spurs and Liverpool’s radar. He has impressed the Liverpool scouts after his performances for the England Under-21’s team. He has been on the fringes of the Leicester set up and will be a great addition to this Liverpool side.

Demarai Gray will add depth to the ever growing Liverpool squad who do seem light on the winger department, after securing the signing of Egyptian winger Salah, if Gray is to be added it will leave him competing with Mane and Salah for a starting berth in the Reds lineup. Gray is also only 21 so if he signs he can be a part of the team for the forcible future.

What kind of a player is Demarai Gray?

As mentioned the 21-year-old is a winger who can comfortably operate on either side, adding pace and skill to whichever team he is playing for. Demarai Gray was a bit part player for Leicester last season as he made 9 starts and 21 bench appearances for the Foxes in the Premier League last season. In this limited time period, he was still able to score 1 and set up 3 for his team.

Demarai Gray is such a player that any team would love to have as he is able to inject that pace which makes it hard for defenders to deal with him. This would make him a very handy addition to Liverpool as Klopp might choose to bring him on for a tired Salah or Mane and let Gray run at the weary defenders. This might be key as previously mentioned, he is comfortable on either wing which would be a straight swap for Mane or Salah.

A standout aspect of Gray’s game is that he is an inverted winger which fits perfectly with Klopp’s philosophy and playing style. What I mean by an ‘inverted winger’ is that he doesn’t run down the byline and get a ball into the box, he cuts inside and creates an overload which was what Liverpool’s forward line were famous for doing last season. Gray also has the ability to pick the ball from deep and charge at people with his ferocious pace. This is somewhat like Mane as it gives us direct runners showing great intent. Something you wouldn’t expect from Gray is his eye for a pass but he does excel in that side of his game too as he is able to pick passes and ping balls to the forward players. Gray would give Liverpool another dimension with his flamboyance and trickery which has seen him get past several defenders last season and this may come in handy when Liverpool are playing against deep blocks as his pace and guile might just be the key to the lock. He does to love to play one two’s as he is pretty decent with the ball at his feet. Something that Klopp might love in Gray is his work rate. The Englishman is not shy to get back and help out his team in defensive transitions and this does again play a part in the kind of heavy metal football Liverpool like to play. Gray does stay on his feet most of the time which does indicate that he is a very strong lad. He is also quite good at corner taking which is something Liverpool need a desperate improvement in.

Considering this wide range of positives we also have to look the negatives this young winger has, the things Gray has to improve upon most majorly is his finishing or his end product. He does ever so well getting the hard part done but the finish is something that still eludes him. Another aspect he should definitely improve upon is his aerial ability. Even though he is a relatively tall man he isn’t the most comfortable when it comes to the heading, which is something which isn’t primarily required for a winger but can be a good addition if brought in.

Demarai Gray is a good young English player with a lot of potential and promise but he shouldn’t be Liverpool next signing ideally as there are several other key areas to strengthen in this side- left back and centre back being two of the notable ones but however he would be a great purchase and is one for the future.

Gray to Liverpool?

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