Birmingham City enter talks to sign Demarai Gray | OneFootball

The winger came through the Blues' academy.

Birmingham City have enquired about bringing Demarai Gray back to the club as he intends to return to England.

The teams at the top end of the Championship aren't going to have an easy ride signing players if the Blues are involved.

The huge amounts of money that they have to spend, as was fully demonstrated last summer when the now ex-League One side spent between £20 million and £25 million in the third tier, will be enough to once again sign top players in the new division.

Sky Sports have reported that them and Wrexham will be battling with the newly relegated top flight sides, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton, for transfer targets in the off-season.

The hope from the top of St Andrew's is that the huge commercial income that they have will allow them to seriously challenge at the top end of the league next season.

Demarai Gray appears on Birmingham City's transfer radar

Chris Davies may have a record-breaking squad at his disposal, but that wasn't at this level. He will know that Blues will need to continue to add to their reserves in order to even attempt to do what Ipswich did two seasons ago and go up to the Premier League via successive promotions.

To help achieve these lofty ambitions, the availability of Gray, a former Birmingham academy product, has been asked about. Football League World's sister publication, GiveMeSport, have stated that the winger wants to return to this country following a near two-year spell with Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.

They added that the Middle Eastern club would want around £8 million for him, but it's not clear whether the 28-year-old winger would consider moving back to Birmingham, who he played for 78 times before being sold to eventual Premier League champions Leicester City in January 2016 for £3.75 million, because it would involve playing in the Championship.

But the Blues have made contact with Al-Ettifaq over a potential deal for Gray.

He reportedly wants a move back to the Premier League. According to GMS, Sunderland, who've not long been promoted to the top flight, hold a historical interest in Gray.

Demarai Gray move makes sense for Birmingham, but it could be hard to overcome the barriers of the deal

The Jamaican international would be an outstanding, marquee addition to Davies' squad. The one area of the pitch where they maybe weren't quite up to their historic standards last term was in the wide attacking areas. That and Gray's connection to the club makes a move to St Andrew's more than logical.

But Gray does have plenty of years of football left in him and, while it is expected that the Blues will one day get back to the first division, there is no guarantee that Birmingham will win promotion in a timely fashion. If Gray truly sees himself as being above the second tier, it will be hard for City to pull off a move for him.

Gray will also be on a very hefty wage with Al-Ettifaq. He has another two years left on his deal with them and is estimated by Capology to be on upwards of £75,000 per week. The winger would have to take a big pay hit in order to come back to his roots.