Everton have been prone to the more than occasional gaffe in the transfer market and have not had the greatest success in recent windows at Goodison Park.
However, whilst the likes of Neal Maupay, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and Moise Kean have struggled, one player Farhad Moshiri struck gold on was the signing of Demarari Gray from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer 0f 2021.
Then-boss Rafa Benitez revealed that he played a big role in the deal as the Spaniard had been tracking the gem. The manager said: “When I was at Newcastle we played against Leicester and he did really well. Since then we were following him and I was in contact with his agent asking about how he was doing.
“I also sent the boy a message when he was in Germany asking how he was getting on and how was he adapting to the style of life in Germany?
“So I had communication and was following him. I told my staff to keep an eye on him because we knew he has the potential.”
Moshiri and Benitez worked to secure a deal for the English forward for a fee in the region of £1.7m and that move has turned out to be an outstanding piece of business.
How much is Demarai Gray worth?
At the time of writing, Football Transfers have placed the attacker’s Expected Transfer Value at £11m (€12.7m) with that representing a whopping increase of 547% from the initial fee they paid to sign him from Leverkusen.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand hailed the signing as an “unbelievable find” by the Toffees and the dynamo’s statistics since arriving at Goodison Park back that up.
In his debut campaign, Gray averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 in the Premier League as the magician produced five goals and four assists from out wide in 34 appearances. The forward also created six ‘big chances’ and provided 1.2 key passes per game, which shows that he was a consistent threat at the top end of the pitch in terms of creating opportunities for his teammates.
This season, the Englishman has scored three times and created a furher three ‘big chances’ in 19 starts in the top-flight and delivered 1.2 key passes per match – continuing the fine form that he showcased in his first year on Merseyside.
The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals and assisted six in 64 outings for the club in all competitions to date and proven that he has the quality to make a significant impact at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis for Sean Dyche’s Toffees.
Couple his excellent performances on the pitch with his soaring market value and it’s easy to see why Moshiri struck gold for Everton by signing him.
