Leicester City have confirmed the signing of Demarai Gray from Birmingham City on a four-and-a-half year contract. He will train with his new teammates tomorrow and is contention to play against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup this weekend.
The 19-year-old signs for an undisclosed fee, although several sources are quoting that price is £3.75million. The tricky winger has been an impressive performer for the Blues ever since making his debut at the age of 17. He has already played 79 professional matches and has been on the books with the St Andrews club since the age of 10. Nevertheless, Gray is delighted to be making the step into the Premier League, when speaking to the official Leicester City website,
https://twitter.com/Demarai7/status/684068454874349569
“It’s been my dream to play in the Premier League since I started playing football so I’m very happy to join the club.
It’s a great club. The facilities here are great and for a player like me it’s an ideal place for me to improve. Meeting all the staff here, it seems like a nice family place, so I think that’s perfect for me.
You can see how well the team has been doing this year and I watch a lot of football so I can see that the way Leicester play suits my style.
I only hear good things about Leicester and I’m looking forward to starting.”
The video below shows how Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City saw first-hand of the qualities that Gray possess, after scoring against them in pre-season.
#lcfc found out first hand about @Demarai7’s talents in pre-season. Check out this stunner… #GrayLCFChttps://t.co/RltNsQd723
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 4, 2016
The official Birmingham City website confirmed that the Foxes met the buyout clause in Gray’s contract, allowing them to speak to the player and eventually sign him. His current contract was due to run out at the end of the season. Although he signed a new contract only over the summer, Gray’s agent insisted upon including certain clauses being included. The club went on to thank the player ‘for his contribution and the way he has conducted himself on and off the field as a Blues player.’
