The 29-year-old became Blues’ third summer signing, as he put pen to paper on a three-year-contract until the summer of 2028.

It marks a pertinent homecoming for Gray, who rejoins the hometown team he left in 2016.

Born in Birmingham, he featured for Cadbury Athletic’s junior teams before joining the Blues academy as an Under-11, later signing a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2012.

A year later, after impressing then manager Lee Clark in training, Gray was included in a senior matchday squad for the first time despite still being a second-year scholar.

It would prove to be a memorable night for the youngster who came off the bench late on to make his debut as Blues ran out 4-0 winners against Millwall in the Championship.

Demarai Gray

Just a month later and Gray made his first start and later that season, he bagged his first Blues goal with his performances earning him the Academy Player of the Season award for 2013/14.

The 2014/15 season brought about more first-team opportunities, with the winger bagging a first senior hat-trick in Blues’ 6-1 demolition of Reading, and his performances were soon attracting interest from a host of Premier League clubs. He ended the campaign with 43 appearances in all competitions and won the club’s Young Player of the Season award.

Despite signing a new contract in B9, a departure felt inevitable as the winger’s performances continued to improve at the start of the 2015/16 season, and he made his final Blues appearance in a 2-0 home win over MK Dons in December 2015.

It was Premier League side Leicester City who swooped for Gray in the January 2016 transfer window, with the winger penning a four-and-a-half-year deal at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes were flying high at the time, and Gray was restricted to mainly substitute appearances in the second half of the campaign, but he played his part as Claudio Ranieri’s side completed one of the most remarkable stories in football to win the Premier League title.

Demarai Gray

That meant UEFA Champions League football for Leicester – and Gray – in the 2016/17 season and he made 42 appearances in all competitions as the Foxes reached the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.

Gray was swiftly becoming a key part of Leicester’s team and following the tragic death of the club’s owner and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash, he scored the winning goal against Cardiff City. He celebrated by removing his shirt to show an undershirt bearing the words "For Khun Vichai" written on it and then running to the away end of the ground.

After helping Leicester narrowly miss out on Champions League qualification in 2020, Gray moved to German side Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021 but spent just six months with the club before returning to England with Everton in the summer.

He would spend two seasons at Goodison Park before making the switch to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, who were managed by Steven Gerrard.

On the international stage, Gray was capped by England at Under-18, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level, and was called up the senior squad in September 2018 for a friendly against Switzerland.

Gray was also eligible to play for Jamaica and in 2023 he was included in their provisional 50-man squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He ended up making the final 23 and made his debut in Jamaica’s tournament opener against the USA – the first of his 27 caps to date.