Demarai Gray

Birmingham City

Early life and career

Gray was born in Birmingham, England, where he attended Frankley High School and played for Cadbury Athletic's junior teams. He joined Birmingham City's Academy as an under-11, and took up a two-year scholarship in July 2012. In a 2013 interview, Gray assessed his strengths as "pace, dribbling and technique", felt he needed to "score more goals", described himself in three words as "bubbly, calm and happy", and named then-teammate Nathan Redmond as the biggest influence on him since joining the club. After impressing Birmingham manager Lee Clark in training, he was named in the squad for the Championship match against Millwall on 1 October 2013, and made his senior debut as a 91st-minute substitute for Jesse Lingard in a 4–0 win. He made his first start on 2 November, in a 1–0 league defeat at home to Charlton Athletic. Gray signed his first professional contract, of two and a half years, on 9 December. Days after his inclusion together with academy teammate Reece Brown in a "Top 10 Football League stars of tomorrow" feature on the FourFourTwo website, Gray scored his first senior goal. Entering the League match at home to Blackburn Rovers on 21 April 2014 as a second-half substitute with Birmingham 4–1 down, he received a pass from Federico Macheda and shot low into the corner to score the final goal of the match. His performance over the season earned him the Academy Player of the Season award for 2013–14.

…

England

Gray was called up for an England under-18s training camp in November 2013. He made his debut at that level on 18 February 2014, playing the whole of a 4–0 win against their Belgian counterparts in a friendly match at St George's Park. Two weeks later, he was involved in England's goal as they lost 2–1 to Croatia in the first match of a double-header. He received his first call-up to the under-19s for a friendly against Germany in September 2014, and made his debut as a second-half substitute. An ankle injury forced Gray's withdrawal from the squad for the 2015 European Under-19 Championship first qualifying round, but he was able to play his part in the elite round. He started the first match, against Denmark, and was involved in England's second goal in a 3–2 win, when his near-post flick was deflected over the line by a Danish player. The Football Association (the FA) credit Gray with the goal, although UEFA record it as an own goal. A substitute in the second group match, a win against Azerbaijan, he returned to the starting eleven for the final group match against France, but a 2–1 defeat meant England failed to qualify for the finals. After taking part in a joint training camp for the under-20 and under-21 teams, Gray was included in Aidy Boothroyd's under-20 squad for the 2015 Toulon Tournament. Starting the opening match on the left of a three-man attack, Gray gave England an 8th-minute lead with a shot from 12 yards (11 m), but Morocco twice took…

Club

As of match played 25 August 2026

International

As of match played 18 November 2025

Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gray goal.

On 24 April 2016, when arriving for that evening's PFA Awards, Gray narrowly escaped being decapitated when he turned the wrong way out of the Leicester City team helicopter and walked straight into the path of the tail rotor. His life was saved by the quick actions of a steward, who escorted him to safety.