Everton have several former players plying their trade in the Championship this season.
Ellis Simms is absolutely ripping it up at Coventry this term and has netted five goals in his last three outings.
That is absolutely genius from Ellis Simms!
Tom Cannon is finally starting to find his feet at Sheffield United, and the likes of Lewis Dobbin and Isaac Price are going really well at Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion, respectively.
Demarai Gray is another former Everton player who’s in the second tier and Birmingham City fans had a lot to say about the 29-year-old last night.
Birmingham City fans reckon Demarai Gray is too good for the Championship
Since leaving Everton in 2023, Gray has spent most of his time in Saudi Arabia, although his record over there wasn’t great.
Despite that, his return to Birmingham was met with great fanfare in the summer transfer window as many were surprised he was willing to play in the Championship.
The former Toffees winger has enjoyed a positive start to the season, and he scored an absolute worldie against Watford last night.
Doing well at Birmingham!
Birmingham fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to heap praise on Gray.
“Demarai Gray in the Championship is a joke btw, this is still a lower team Prem player. We’re so lucky he came back to us,” @mattimoth posted.
@pauljg82 added: “Remind me how the F we got Demarai Gray again?! What a player, what a goal!”
@BloozEXTRA commented: “Honestly, Demarai Gray gets better as the season goes on. What a goal that is.”
“Best winger in the league,” @BluesJack_ simply said.
“Gray has turned up the last few weeks and showed us all what we knew he was capable of,” @Jordan1098xx noted.
@thetwobutchers said: “Demarai Gray special…”
Demarai Gray stats 2025/26
Gray has now been involved in eight goals for Birmingham this season, which is pretty good going considering they aren’t one of the dominant sides in the division.
The West Midlanders, who gained promotion from League One last year, are sitting in seventh place, just outside the play-offs.
Birmingham do have ambitions to return to the Premier League this season, so Gray may well face Everton next year.
Birmingham are planning to build a new stadium which will be even bigger than the Hill Dickinson, so their ownership are certainly giving it a good go.
Their new ground is expected to have a capacity of around 62,000, making it one of the biggest in the country.
So it’s no wonder Gray was willing to step down a level, as there are clearly exciting plans ahead for the Blues.
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