Demarai Gray’s Leicester City frustrations mean Tottenham Hotspur move wouldn’t make sense

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Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been watching Demarai Gray for some time – though he is a seldom seen figure at Leicester City.

You have to feel for Demarai Gray. The England Under-21 star has done very little wrong at Leicester City since making a hotly-anticipated move from Birmingham City in January 2016 but has still started just ten Premier League games in the last year-and-a-half.

Despite Riyad Mahrez angling for a move away this summer and Marc Albrighton hardly renowned for his ability to create something out of nothing, Gray has featured in just 34 minutes of The Foxes’ first three Premier League games this season. And this is after he starred at the Under-21 European Championships for England this summer.

Therefore, you can hardly criticise the 21-year-old for having his head turned by offers from other Premier League clubs as his lack of game time remains a cause for concern.

“I am not happy with the amount of football I am playing at the moment,” Gray, who was the subject of a £25 million bid from Bournemouth on deadline day, told The Sun.

“I respect the manager and he picks his team. But I want to play as much as possible in the Premier League and at the moment that is not the case. I get so frustrated when I don’t play and the manager knows I just want to play football.”

‘Not happy’

Bournemouth surely would have given Gray the ideal opportunity to prove his worth in England’s top flight, the jet-fuelled winger surely representing an upgrade on the likes of Marc Pugh and Jordon Ibe.

Yet, a future move to long-standing suitors Tottenham Hotspur, who The Mirror claimed were interested this summer, would seem to make little sense despite manager Mauricio Pochettino being renowned for getting the best out of instinctive young attackers.

After all, a place in the starting XI would be no guarantee at Tottenham – and not just because Pochettino is currently preferring a 3-4-3 system with an absence of natural wingers.

Gray would have to fight Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Heung Min-Son and possibly even Erik Lamela for a place in the starting XI. There’s no doubting Gray’s quality but perhaps a sidewards move, to Bournemouth for example, would be his best option.