Leicester’s Demarai Gray ‘ready to sign’ new deal

London: Leicester winger Demarai Gray says he is ready to sign a new contract at the club to end lingering speculation over his future after an eye-catching performance against Everton. The 21-year-old has been in contract talks and former boss Craig Shakespeare said he was close to a deal almost two months ago. But discussions have dragged on, not helped by a change of manager, with Shakespeare replaced by Claude Puel. Leicester rejected bids from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in the summer. Gray starred in Puel’s first game on Sunday, scoring the second and playing a huge part in Leicester’s opening goal in a 2-0 win against Everton and he confirmed he is prepared to sign. “We obviously wanted to see who the new manager was and stuff, a bit of stability, but I’m happy playing football here and let my representatives deal with that side of it,” said Gray. “When they give me the phone call we’ll get it sorted. “It’s for my representative and the backroom staff to deal with.” — AFP