Player To Watch: Leicester sign 19-year-old Demarai Gray from Birmingham
Leicester have completed the signing of Demarai Gray from Birmingham for an undisclosed fee.
The January transfer window only opened on Saturday but Leicester – second in the Barclays Premier League, two points behind leaders Arsenal – have moved quickly to follow up their summer interest in the highly-rated 19-year-old.
Gray has put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year contract at the King Power Stadium.
The 19-year-old told Leicester’s official website, lcfc.com, ”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 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 City play suits my style.
“I only hear good things about Leicester and I’m looking forward to starting.”
During the summer transfer window Leicester triggered a release clause in Gray’s contract but the winger decided to remain at Birmingham.
Now though, an offer thought to be around £3.75million has led to Gray leaving St Andrew’s.
Gray was left out of the Birmingham squad for their Sky Bet Championship fixture at home to Brentford on Saturday and underwent a medical prior to Leicester’s game against Bournemouth, who were also interested in the England Under-20 international and had several bids for him turned down in the summer.
He will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday and could go straight into the Leicester squad for their FA Cup third-round tie against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
