50 Shades of Dimmy Gray

• Full Name: Demarai 'Dimmy' Gray
• Club: Birmingham City
• Position: Left Winger, Number 10
• Birthday: 28 June 1996
• Born: Birmingham, England
• Nationality: English
• Height: 178cm (5'10)
• Preferred Foot: Right
• Type of Player: Inside Forward, Direct Winger
• Key Attributes: Pace, Ball Control, Acceleration
• He's like a young: Eden Hazard

 

 Breaking Into The Team:

Lee Clark's tenure at Birmingham City was, for want of a better word, a mess. Loads of players brought in, bombed out, thrown in at the deep end and yanked straight back out again. However, Clark must be praised with bringing some young players through, and Gray is one of those. At just 17 he was brought into the first team, but he struggled to make an impact, struggling with the physicality of the game. There were clear flashes of talent, but his lack of physicality made them infuriatingly infrequent.

Fast forward a year from his first inclusion, and it's a very different picture. Having started a lot more games and given a clear role, Gray has at times looked like a world-beater. Though his goal return is fairly modest (5 in 32 senior appearances) this is not all there is to the young winger's game. When Gray is at the top of his game he is frighteningly good with the ball at his feet, drifting past defenders as though were mere cardboard cut-outs.

Given space to roam on the left wing he can utilise his pace and tight ball control to manufacture chances for himself and others.

Strengths:

Obviously Gray's blistering pace is a huge part of what makes him dangerous. On the counter-attack he can be devastating, but his acceleration from standing make him equally difficult to deal with in a slower build-up. His hat-trick against Reading showed that he has the qualities to cause problems in many different ways. His first showed him cutting inside before placing a delightful strike just inside the post, then quickly following up by beating two defenders from standing and placing low into the net. He completed his hat-trick shortly after from a counter-attacking move.

His tight ball control and flair make him tricky to deal with and difficult to dispossess and means that many teams resort to doubling up on the winger - which shows the respect that Gray demands, even at just 18. With any young winger there are always questions when it comes to end product, but Gray has displayed his ability to finish - he just needs to work on his consistency. The reason he is so sought after is the potential he has. If he can find that consistency, he could reach the top. A player with his ability to run with the ball with end product is worth a fortune; Tottenham bought Lamela for £30m for that exact reason, and he isn't yet consistent.

Weaknesses:

As of yet, Gray still struggles physically. He is not weak, but he's not Wilfried Bony either, and of course he is still young and will grow to deal with the more physical defenders. I seem to remember a certain Cristiano Ronaldo was also quite lightweight at 18; not to suggest they are as good, but there are comparisons to be drawn.

As mentioned his consistency is not there just yet, but you wouldn't expect it to be. The one area I think he needs to improve is his creativity in the final third. He is very good at manipulating defenders and he can use the space he creates to bring other players in. Currently though, he is not being asked to do this and maybe he will be trained to be a very direct player rather than a wide creator a la Eden Hazard.

Conclusion and Scout Report:

The development of Gray depends vastly on the role he is required to fill. Currently it seems he will be deployed as a forward, attacking the box and being asked to score goals. The inherent risk here is that he becomes one-dimensional, always cutting inside and shooting. This can work if you are Arjen Robben or Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone knows what you're going to do, but are unable to stop it. Dimmy may be good, but he isn't world class and he may also need to become more versatile in the future, allowing him to influence from deeper positions. However, for now, Gray should be allowed to continue to play in his natural style, which is exciting and enjoyable to watch.

Gray would be a good signing for any lower half Premier League team, but Birmingham manager Rowett has warned Gray to wait for a top team to come in. Clearly, he is not the only one who believes Gray is destined for the top. Sporting Lisbon, famous for nurturing young talent and selling them to top teams, have reportedly been sniffing around the winger. With bids of £5m turned down in January from Championship high-fliers Bournemouth, Gray needs to plot his next move carefully. Currently it seems playing games is the best thing for him, and maybe his home club is the one to do that. At a reported fee of at the very least £7m, it's a big gamble for any team outside the top 6, who will be watching the youngster with intent. Unless something goes very wrong, you can expect to see the name Demarai Gray a lot more often in the near future.