Demarai Gray is getting his chance under Claude Puel: Will he seize it?

Under Claude Puel, Demarai Gray is finally getting his chance to impress. Will he take it?

Leicester City’s trip to face West Ham United at the London Stadium should see Demarai Gray named in the visitors’ starting line-up for the fourth time in a row since Claude Puel’s appointment as manager. Almost two years after his arrival at the club, it will be the first time that Gray has been named in the team for four consecutive Premier League games.

It seems extraordinary given that the player’s potential has long been known. Football fans became accustomed to his regular forays from the bench during Leicester’s title triumph as Gray became only the seventh teenager to earn a Premier League winners’ medal. The congested fixture list of the following campaign was supposed to see him kick on.
But while Gray was in Claudio Ranieri’s team for the opening day of last season, he did not start another game in the competition until after Christmas. When Craig Shakespeare took over, things did not improve. Although Leicester turned down bids from elsewhere for the winger, Gray started only four Premier League games in eight months under Shakespeare.
„I felt I was being held back,“ the player said recently, but he must share some of the responsibility. Two goals and three assists prior to the arrival of Claude Puel did not absolutely demand his inclusion. Which is why it is so important that Gray provided an immediate response when thrown in for the new manager’s first game in charge.

Recalled for the 2-0 win against Everton, Gray scored the second goal of the game in a man-of-the-match performance at the King Power Stadium. He has retained his place since then and finally signed a new four-year contract with the club earlier this month. It is easy to see why Gray might regard Puel’s appointment as a fresh start to his Leicester career.
Much is made of opportunities for English coaches, but it has taken the departure of one in favour of an experienced Frenchman to instil confidence in this young English talent. Puel has already compared Gray to Eden Hazard, with whom he worked when the Chelsea star was a teenager at Lille. It was an early demonstration of his belief in Gray’s potential.

„He’s good with the ball and good without the ball, a good player with good penetration, quality and he can make a difference,“ said Puel. „Now it is important to confirm and to stay at this level is the most important thing but the most difficult. He is technical and can play with good relationships with team-mates. We will see if he can continue to perform.“
It is understandable why Gray might have become frustrated at times, particularly when not given an extended run during last season’s malaise. As a teenager at Birmingham, he made more than 50 Championship starts, so the adjustment to life on the bench will have been challenging. He is appreciating the greater one-on-one attention from Puel and is eager to reward him.

„He stops you a lot in training which is good because I want to be coached, I want to learn and I want to know that I have a manager who wants to help me,“ Gray told Sky Sports. „At the age I’m at now, I want to keep developing rather than just being on one level. I want to be the best I can be and reach my potential. I think it’s going to do me well.“
Gray has had to watch as his contemporaries have been given their chance and delivered. He has seen his old England Under-21 room-mate Tammy Abraham make his senior debut when he might well have felt that he would have been the first to take that step given the head-start he enjoyed by playing regularly at Birmingham and tasting glory at Leicester.

Abraham racked up 11 Premier League starts within 100 days of his Premier League debut. It took Gray more than 650 days before Puel handed him his 12th start. But he goes to the London Stadium on Friday Night Football with another opportunity to showcase his potential. And with a manager who, belatedly, could help him to realise it.Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.