Ex-England Under-21s star who won whopping 26 caps for Young Lions ‘close to shock international allegiance switch’
DEMARAI GRAY is edging closer to making his debut for Jamaica according to the president of the Jamaican Football Federation.
The Everton winger, who turns 28 at the end of the month, has been scouted for a number of months by the JFF.
GettyDemarai Gray scored eight goals for the England U21s[/caption]
ReutersDespite twice being called up to the England senior squad Gray never made his debut[/caption]
Head coach Heimir Halgrimsson is looking to put together a squad capable of winning the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer, and qualifying for the World Cup in 2026.
Gray turned out for England at youth level, earning 26 caps for the England Under-21s and scoring eight goals.
However, he never made his England debut even though he was called up to the senior squad twice.
Ricketts claimed the documentation process for Gray was going smoothly and is close to completion.
He said: “We’ve had discussions with Gray, I spoke with the manager some days ago and he assured me that the paperwork is okay and that he will be available.
“In fact, he assured me that he will have Demarai’s passport in his hand very soon so we are hoping he’ll definitely be a part of the set-up.”
The winger has been named in Jamaica’s provisional 50-strong squad ahead of this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup and will be hoping to make the final 23-man list.
Gray isn’t the only Premier League player in the squad and he is joined by West Ham‘s Michail Antonio, Chelsea‘s Omari Hutchinson, Aston Villa‘s Leon Bailey and Fulham‘s Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
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The tournament begins on June 24, but before then Jamaica travel to Austria to play Qatar and Jordan in warm up games.
Gray made 33 appearances and scored four goals as Sean Dyche‘s Everton side stayed in the Premier League thanks to a 1-0 win against Bournemouth on the final day.
The winger started his career at Birmingham, before joining Leicester – where he won the Premier League title.
He had a spell at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany before returning to the Premier League with Everton.
