Pochettino should reignite interest in Leicester’s Demarai Gray in January
[ad_pod ]
Mauricio Pochettino has tried and failed to land Leicester City winger Demarai Gray on multiple occasions, but he should try his hand once more in January.
What’s the word?
A source close to the North London club is said to have told ESPN earlier in 2018 that Spurs were weighing up another move for Gray, having expressed interest in the previous year.
Leicester refused to consider any approach in the initial window, and the winger has continued to develop at the King Power Stadium with Pochettino keeping a close eye on his progress.
The Argentine manager would have noted in that period Gray recording five goals and three assists in 53 Premier League appearances since, to add to his one previous successful strike and four assists in the English top flight.
Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas which Arsenal players would get into the Tottenham team ahead of the North London Derby – Check out the video below…
Why make a move now?
Pochettino once saw something in the right-footed left-winger that made him sit up and take note, but under Claude Puel, those moments of magic have been thin and far between.
As a result, the England Under 21 international is getting fewer chances to return to his best and has an average minutes per game in the Premier League of 59 at present.
A majority of those minutes, however, come through starts at the beginning of the season, where he featured for at least 76 minutes in the opening four – Gray has started just once in his last four outings.
Even in the FA Cup, in a much-changed Foxes line-up, the 22-year-old was overlooked until the 60th minute when brought on to replace Danny Simpson.
If Pochettino was to make a move for the out-of-favour winger, he could work his magic on Gray in a similar manner to that of Lucas Moura and Serge Aurier, who both arrived from Paris Saint-Germain lacking consistency and a killer instinct.
The duo have since come on leaps and bounds under the Argentine manager’s guidance, with Moura claiming the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for August.
Gray would also provide the former Southampton boss with further cover for the likes of Moura, Son Heung-Min and Erik Lamela.