Birmingham City are hoping to bring Demarai Gray back to St Andrew’s in what would be a heart-warming homecoming for the winger
Lee Clark(Image: PA)
Demarai Gray will not be put off by the prospect of dropping into the Championship – for Birmingham City.
That’s according to Lee Clark, the man who gave Gray his Blues debut in October 2013 and the manager who oversaw the first year of the winger’s transition from promising academy teen, to established first team star.
Clark was in charge at Blues for two years, at a time when the club was struggling financially and when it was reliant on home-grown youngsters not only to play but to be sold to help it survive.
In a squad built on free transfers and ageing players, Gray was a shining light.
With his return to St Andrew’s on the horizon, nearly a decade since he left, Clark has told BirminghamLive the winger is ready to assume a leadership role in Chris Davies’ squad.
“I remember going to watch Richard Beale’s Under-21 side and he stood out straight away coming on as a substitute. He caught my eye straight away,” the 52-year-old said.
“The following week I asked Richard to start him in a game and I watched him again and I thought ‘I like what this kid is about.’
“He had no fear, he had great pace, he was direct, he was positive, all that I liked about attacking players and especially wide players with a bit of pace, who could go past people.”
Birmingham City’s Demarai Gray playing against Derby County at Pride Park
Clark introduced Gray in the final minute of a 4-0 win over Millwall. He then gave him an hour in a draw with Derby County but it was in the League Cup clash with Stoke City that he really showed that he was about.
Blues drew the game 4-4 but went out on penalties on a night when they lost a penny but found a pound. “They were a Premier League team, Mark Hughes was manager and we had a terrific game.
“I put Dimmy on against Premier League players and he was absolutely sensational. From then on in he was a regular for me.
“Obviously I took him out of the firing line a couple of times just to give him a rest now and then, he was still only 16-17, but in terms of what he was doing, the qualities he had, the impact he was making, he was making too big of an impact to not have him in and around the group.
“He just played with real enthusiasm, real determination. What I liked about him as an attacking player, he wasn’t worried if he went on a one on one duel and he lost out to the defender. He got the ball again and he tried it again. As an attacking player, you’ve got to have that mentality.”
Within nine games the vultures started circling and there was speculation that cash-strapped Blues would be forced to realise one of their most valuable assets. Crystal Palace came in with a deadline day swoop in the summer of 2014, which Blues rebuffed.
It was a familiar story until he eventually did move on in January 2016 after 78 appearances.
“I think what people have to realise, he stayed loyal. There was numerous opportunities even when I was there.
“But we never wanted to force anybody out, and Dimmy was adamant and I thought that was great.
“I used to say to him it was better for him to gain the experience of 100-200 Championship games than to go into a big Premier League club and maybe just get pushed into their U-21s for a year or two. That would put him backwards.
“He and his family took that on board and he stayed loyal, as I said, there were five or six opportunities before he eventually went.
“He never agitated, he just got on with his football. He was a delight to work with. He’s a lovely kid, he had a smile on his face and he was enjoying himself. He was brilliant.”
In the end Leicester City activated Gray’s release clause and he moved across the Midlands, a run so perfectly timed within a few months he was part of a Premier League winning squad.
He spent the next four seasons at the King Power Stadium before Brendan Rodgers sold him to Bayer Leverkusen. He returned to England with Everton in July 2021 before moving to Saudi Arabia.
Demarai Gray in action for Jamaica
It is believed Blues have agreed terms with Al-Ettifaq and that the 29-year-old could be on the brink of a return – and Clark is keen to see it happen.
“To see the opportunity that he could be coming back to Blues, when things are really on an upward trajectory, I think that he could be coming back to play a part in a much more positive environment, to his club, his local club, his team, I’ll be really excited.
“I think it’ll be a tremendous signing by Chris [Davies] and his staff if he could do that, especially where Chris has got the team playing on the front foot, exciting, high tempo football.
“I think he fits into that straight away and he doesn’t need any introduction. He doesn’t need any bedding in period with the football club.
“He’ll see the difference, I would have thought, from what he left and what he started with and what the club is now – a very, very ambitious club with big demands on it.
“But no doubt Dimmy would go in there as one of the senior players as well, and I think he’ll enjoy that. He’s got a lot of experience behind him, a Premier League winner for one, not many people can say that.
“I’d be buzzing, that would be a great move for me personally because obviously I still look out for what’s happening in Birmingham. I still want them to do well, [I’m] loving what’s happening at the club at the minute.”
Gray is believed to have interest from Premier League rivals, meaning a drop into the Championship might seem unusual. Not according to their former manager.
“I wouldn’t [be surprised], what I’m telling you is in the football world, Birmingham aren’t seen as a Championship club. They’re seen as a Premier League club in waiting.
“That’s what players, that’s what agents see with this football club because they see the owners, what they’re saying, but more importantly what they’re doing, they’re delivering, they’re talking the talk, but they’re walking the walk.
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner holds the League One trophy
“The manager’s come in, been phenomenal in his first season, the way he had them playing football. I closely watched the cup tie against Newcastle.
“Newcastle finished winning a cup and getting in the Champions League and Birmingham ran them very, very close that night. It was a terrific cup tie, it was a brilliant game from both teams.
“So yeah, I don’t think anyone’s seeing them as a Championship club, to be honest with you.
“I can see similarities to when I went to Fulham. Mohamed Al-Fayed was buying players in, he took over when they finished 91st and then smashed down the line.
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“I joined the journey, we got to the Premier League, we got into Europe, but I think the ceiling for Birmingham can be even higher because there’s a super-stadium that’s potentially on its way.
“The backing, the finances that can create the Premier League now, I just think it’s a matter of when, not if, they get to the Premier League, and I’d be delighted because I think the fans have gone through the mill.
“Going back to your question, he’ll be going back thinking ‘I mightn’t be a Championship player for too long’. He might be going back to the Premier League with his club, the club he loves.
“So I think that would be a big call for him, definitely, and it’d be a real coup for Birmingham if they can do it this year because he is a top level footballer.”
Are Blues right to try to re-sign Demarai Gray? Have your say HERE