![\"Lee](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_Soccer-Lee-Clark-Filer.jpg\")
Lee Clark(Image: PA)<\/p>\nBirmingham City are hoping to bring Demarai Gray back to St Andrew’s in what would be a heart-warming homecoming for the wingerLee Clark(Image: PA)<\/p>\n
Demarai Gray will not be put off by the prospect of dropping into the Championship \u2013 for Birmingham City.<\/a><\/p>\n That\u2019s according to Lee Clark, the man who gave Gray his Blues <\/a>debut in October 2013 and the manager who oversaw the first year of the winger\u2019s transition from promising academy teen, to established first team star.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n In a squad built on free transfers and ageing players, Gray <\/a>was a shining light.<\/p>\n With his return to St Andrew\u2019s on the horizon,<\/a> nearly a decade since he left, Clark has told BirminghamLive the winger is ready to assume a leadership role in Chris Davies\u2019 squad.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d the 52-year-old said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe following week I asked Richard to start him in a game and I watched him again and I thought \u2018I like what this kid is about.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Blues drew the game 4-4 but went out on penalties on a night when they lost a penny but found a pound. \u201cThey were a Premier League team, Mark Hughes was manager and we had a terrific game.<\/p>\n \u201cI put Dimmy on against Premier League players and he was absolutely sensational. From then on in he was a regular for me.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It was a familiar story until he eventually did move on in January 2016 after 78 appearances.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what people have to realise, he stayed loyal. There was numerous opportunities even when I was there.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we never wanted to force anybody out, and Dimmy was adamant and I thought that was great.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe and his family took that on board and he stayed loyal, as I said, there were five or six opportunities before he eventually went.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end Leicester City activated Gray\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It is believed Blues have agreed terms with Al-Ettifaq and that the 29-year-old could be on the brink of a return \u2013 and Clark is keen to see it happen.<\/p>\n \u201cTo 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’ll see the difference, I would have thought, from what he left and what he started with and what the club is now \u2013 a very, very ambitious club with big demands on it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI’d be buzzing, that would be a great move for me personally because obviously I still look out for what’s happening in Birmingham<\/a>. I still want them to do well, [I\u2019m] loving what’s happening at the club at the minute.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe manager\u2019s come in, been phenomenal in his first season, the way he had them playing football. I closely watched the cup tie against Newcastle.<\/p>\n \u201cNewcastle 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, I don’t think anyone’s seeing them as a Championship club, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City<\/a> WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link<\/a> to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing back to your question, he\u2019ll be going back thinking \u2018I mightn\u2019t be a Championship player for too long\u2019. He might be going back to the Premier League with his club, the club he loves.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Birmingham](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Birmingham-Citys-Demarai-Gray-playing-against-Derby-County-at-Pride-Park.jpg\")
Birmingham City’s Demarai Gray playing against Derby County at Pride Park<\/p>\n![\"Demarai](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_JS337326699.jpg\")
Demarai Gray in action for Jamaica<\/p>\n![\"Birmingham](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_JS367161111.jpg\")
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner holds the League One trophy<\/p>\n