Noel Whelan has declared Everton signing Demarai Gray 'the bargain of the century'.

The lowdown

Everton paid £1.7million to sign former Leicester City winger Gray from Bayer Leverkusen back in July.

The 25-year-old followed Andros Townsend and Asmir Begovic - both signed on free transfers - through the door at Goodison Park.

He's started both Premier League matches so far and opened his account for the Toffees in the 2-2 draw away to Leeds United on Saturday.

As well as finding the net, Gray also completed two dribbles and created one chance at Elland Road (via SofaScore).

His performance earned him in a place in BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks' team of the week on Sunday.

The latest

Whelan says Gray is already silencing his doubters and reckons he should only get better.

"There was a question mark over whether he could do it but he has proved to be an absolute snip in the first couple of games," he told Football Insider.

"For £1.7million, that really is the bargain of the century," Whelan continued. "If he continues to produce that kind of quality on a weekly basis, what a bargain.

"He is not even into his prime yet so it really is a great bit of business from Everton."

The verdict

It still feels much too early to be declaring players bargains, and we should be especially cautious with Gray. This is a player who was producing flashes of brilliance at Leicester City but has found his career blighted by inconsistency thus far.

But it's true that the early signs are promising, and we shouldn't forget that he's now working under Rafael Benitez, one of the best coaches around. The Spaniard will surely relish the challenge of unlocking Gray's potential, something he seems to be doing to perfection so far.

In other news, Rangers' Nathan Patterson stance has been revealed after Everton's bid.