Blockbuster Birmingham City transfer is seriously impressive – It isn’t just a romantic return | OneFootball

Birmingham City's move for Demarai Gray is a smart one, and not just one based on a romantic idea of his return to St Andrews.

As Birmingham City prepare for their return to the Championship, the Blues are expected to be ambitious in this summer’s transfer window and one romantic, but still potentially significant, transfer appears close.

It has been reported that the second-city club are closing in on the signing of former player Demarai Gray, who looks set to return to St Andrews after leaving for Leicester City nine and a half years ago.

They have what is already a strong squad on paper, but Chris Davies will be keen to strengthen key areas of the pitch in order to sustain a genuine promotion challenge for the Premier League next season.

Birmingham have been linked with plenty of players this summer, and especially in attack, but it appears that their fourth summer signing, following Phil Neumann arriving after signing a pre-contract agreement in January and loans for both Alfons Sampsted and Taylor Gardner-Hickman becoming permanent moves, will be Gray.

Gray return is not just a romantic move by Birmingham

It could easily, but perhaps lazily, argued that a move for Gray is one shrouded in sentimentality and is actually one for the headlines and the narrative, rather than a footballing decision.

Gray is a player who has often flattered to deceive in his career, but has shown enormous potential to earn moves to the likes of Leicester, during the Premier League title-winning campaign, as well as Bayer Leverkusen and Everton.

A move to the Saudi Pro League has also now become a sign to many that a player has given up on seriously competitive football at the top level and is heading towards retirement, as had previously been the stereotypes with the Chinese Super League and Major League Soccer.

However, not only are Al Hilal potentially dispelling that myth of an uncompetitive Saudi Arabian top-flight with their performances in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, but Gray is also not someone who falls into that category.

The former England U21 international, who now represents the Jamaica national team under the management of Steve McClaren, was a key man and focal point for Everton in the top-flight just a couple of years ago.

His time at Goodison Park was perhaps an encapsulation of his whole career, with excellent performances and game-changing moments, most notably against Arsenal with a late winner and at the Etihad against Manchester City with a glorious equaliser, peppered throughout an inconsistent, maverick-like stint on Merseyside.

However, moments like that are more likely to be more often at a lower level, such as the Championship, and in a team that will dominate the ball in quite a formulaic way, looking for that extra spark in the final third could well suit Gray and, at 29 when the season gets underway, he will be no means past it.

Gray fits in at Birmingham

Keshi Anderson was the man often preferred by Davies to play on the left-hand side of the City attack last season and, whilst an avid worker and someone who could chip in with the odd goal involvement, there is likely going to be an upgrade required in that position in order to pursue a top six finish.

Gray represents someone who raises the floor of Birmingham. They have a squad that could well already challenge for the top six and their ceiling remains an unknown.

What they will want to be more sure of is what their base level will be and Gray, with his pedigree and quality, is someone who represents quite a high base level for a newly-promoted Championship outfit.

If Gray is set to be Birmingham’s first ‘proper’, for want of a better phrase, new addition this summer, with Neumann having been known about for six months and the other two deals just being permanent moves for loanees, then it would represent an ambitious start to the summer for City – and not just a move based on romance.