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Demarai Gray “unhappy” over lack of playing time at Leicester City

By Harneet Singh Sethi

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 05: Demarai Gray of England crosses during the UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifiers between England and Latvia at Vitality Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 05: Demarai Gray of England crosses during the UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifiers between England and Latvia at Vitality Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /
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Demarai Gray has revealed that his Leicester City future still remains uncertain and that he is unhappy over his current situation.

The England U-21 international hasn’t been short of offers in recent times, having been linked to Everton, AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Cherries are also believed to have offered £28 million for the 21-year old, but Leicester City remained stubborn and successfully rebuffed any approach for their prodigious Englishman.

Demarai Gray scored for England last night as the young Lions beat Latvia 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium. Speaking after the game, he told:

"“Did I think I was going to leave Leicester? There were a few bids flying around.“There was interest and a lot going on. Obviously I was away with the Under-21s so that took my mind off it a little bit. But a lot was going on.“Leicester sat me down and told me how they were going to use me and the impact they see me having on the team. But deadline day is manic and you never know what is going to happen.“I am not happy with the amount of football I am playing. I respect the manager [Craig Shakespeare] and he picks his team.“But I want to play as much as possible in the Premier League and at the moment that is not the case.”"

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, often touted as a future England manager, was watching as well as Gray got on the scoring sheet, and while the former Birmingham City winger was happy to score in front of the Bournemouth faithful (and Howe), the speculation is history for him, with his focus now only on Leicester City.

"“I have just have to get my head down and get on with it and come off the bench or whatever, play well in a cup game and give the manager a headache,” he added.“But I just get so frustrated when I don’t play and the manager knows I just want to play.“I am not just going to sit there and say nothing. If I was that would be an issue. People misunderstand sometimes and think my morale might not be as good as it should be.“But I just want to play football and when I’m not playing it’s frustrating because I know what I can bring to the team.“I respect Eddie Howe as a manager and it was nice to score in front of their fans. I was aware of their interest in the window but I am still a Leicester player at the end of the day.”"

The young Englishman has cut a frustrated figure in recent times (doing something similar the other night), publicly making his desire to play more be known. However, Demarai Gray is yet to be handed a start this season, further encouraging his suitors to try and tempt him away.

An obvious lack of playing time has been something of a pattern since his move to Leicester City from Birmingham City back in January 2016. The 21-year old has made 42 Premier League appearances so far, though he has started a mere 10 games.

With every game passing by wherein Gray comes off the bench for a 10-minute cameo, Leicester City are further losing their grip over a player who does indeed deserve more playing time. Don’t be surprised if he’s the first man out of the King Power Stadium, come January.

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