Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab have agreed a fee with Everton over the signing of winger Demarai Gray with the fee discussed reportedly being in the region of just over £10 million.
The 27 year-old Birmingham-born attacker, who made his international debut for Jamaica earlier this year, is now involved in talks with Al-Shabab but no agreement has yet been reached. It is also expected that Everton will only sanction the sale once they have signed a replacement.
Gray joined Everton for a small fee of around £1.7 million from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2021. He has gone on to score 12 goals in 75 appearances for The Toffees across all competitions.
He began his career with hometown club Birmingham City in 2013 and scored eight goals in 78 games for The Blues before joining Leicester City in the January of 2016, helping The Foxes win their first Premier League title.
After four and a half seasons with Leicester, he moved to the Bundesliga but only managed ten appearances for Leverkusen before his cut-price move to Everton.
In terms of Everton seeking a replacement, they have a strong interest in Leeds’ Italian international forward Willy Gnonto, who has handed in a written transfer request, but would cost close to £30 million. They have also been linked with Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana.
The Toffees have already signed three players during this window with Ashley Young arriving on a free transfer from Aston Villa, Villarreal’s Arnaut Danjuma signing on loan and youngster Youssef Chermiti signing from Sporting CP. They are also expected to close a deal for Southampton and Scotland striker Che Adams in the coming days.
Everton have begun the season with back-to-back to nil defeats, losing 1-0 at home to Fulham on the opening day of the season before being thrashed by four goals to nil at Villa Park by Aston Villa.