'Bargain buy' Demarai Gray in even better form than first seems

By Alex Caple

Demarai Gray is in even better form than it first looks. Everton’s new winger certainly looks like a ‘bargain buy’.

Demarai Gray is quite clearly in wonderful form. Three goals in four games since joining Everton this summer proves that. It’s a magnificent return from a £1.7m signing – he already looks like a bargain.

That’s certainly how Gary Lineker sees it.

“Really pleased for [Gray],” he wrote on Twitter. “Always had bags of potential and if he carries on like this he may well be the bargain buy of the season.”

There’s little doubt about that latter statement. £1.7m isn’t supposed to get you much these days, and certainly not a reliable Premier League goalscorer.

But the reality is that Gray isn’t just a goalscorer. His wonderful form goes beyond just goals. The 25-year-old is enjoying a fantastic all-around start.

Demarai Gray in great form

Just in an attacking sense, Gray is shining. There are his three goals, of course, but he’s also creating at least one chance per game and one dribble per game.

Only eight players at Everton can match the former and four the latter.

And Gray does that with fantastic consistency. He’s only dispossessed on average of once per game and shows a poor first-touch twice. For a comparison, Richarlison is dispossessed 3.5x per game, with 4.5 poor touches.

Having a winger who can do all of that is brilliant for Everton. That’s only half the story, however.

Gray averages over one tackle and one interception per game. He’s one of only five Everton players to do this and, unsurprisingly, is the only attacker.

You can’t really ask for more from any new signing, let alone one who cost you next to nothing. Gray is showing great form both attacking and defending, while playing a few different positions, too.

Gray has started as a left midfielder, a more advanced winger and an attacking midfielder over his four games. To move around and show consistent form – and at a new club – is incredibly difficult.

If Gray keeps this up, he won’t just be a bargain of the season contender – he could be one of the best signings in years.