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Leicester’s Demarai Gray is an incredibly frustrating figure.
Having joined Leicester from Birmingham in 2016, he’s never been able to live up to the hype of being one of the best young talents to come through the Blues’ youth system.
Letting him go will have been a bitter blow for Birmingham but since arriving in the Premier League he’s been hugely inconsistent.
Last term there was a real lack of end product from the wide man, who rather surprisingly witnessed his best scoring season since arriving at the King Power.
He found the net a measly four times, coming within two strikes of matching his best tally of six for Birmingham in 2014/15.
But that is perhaps indicative of where he’s fallen off in recent years.
His performances haven’t been good enough, and his display for England U21s on Tuesday night was classic Gray.
Now 22, he is the elder statesmen of Aidy Boothroyd’s side. The younger players in the team should be looking at him to set an example.
However, the exhibit he turned in against France at the European Championships was anything but convincing.
Both of the shots he had were off target, blazing over the bar from a second attempt outside of the box but his first opportunity was far simpler.
In fact, it was a sitter. Gray ran through on goal with just the goalkeeper to beat but somehow planted the ball into the side netting when he went for the near post, rather than the far one.
He was also dispossessed once, completing just one dribble as he struggled to make inroads.
Initially starting on the left-hand side where he created a wonderful opportunity in the first half, the 5 ft 11 winger then swapped with Ryan Sessegnon on the right.
Yet his inability to find the net and create more than one chance shows why Leicester are looking for wide players in the transfer window and also a possible replacement.
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In recent times Andros Townsend, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Kevin Augustin have all been linked with possible switches.
Therefore, if he’s to prevent a potential new signing from taking his place he simply has to improve, both in terms of his end product and general consistency.
Putting in good performances for England at the U21 European Championships is certainly a good starting point for Gray and if he can start taking his chances, it may just put him at the front of Brendan Rodgers’ plans.
