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In one of the biggest coups of the summer transfer window, Birmingham City brought Demarai Gray back to his boyhood club, and he couldn’t be happier.
We all knew Birmingham City would go big this summer, but nobody quite expected them to pull off a deal to lure Demarai Gray back from Saudi Arabia.
The winger had interest from the Premier League, but Birmingham won the race for Gray thanks to a complex yet very smart financial package that suited all parties.
Now, there are big expectations on Gray’s shoulders ahead of the impending Championship campaign. But, the man himself is clearly delighted to be back where it all began.
What Demarai Gray said about coming back to Birmingham City
Speaking in an in-depth interview with the club (via the Birmingham City YouTube channel), Gray discussed the journey the club has been on since he was last there, and explained how he has closely watched the Blues’ progress of late.
He said: “I’ve always followed the club since I left. There was obviously a period where it wasn’t great, going down, but last season I was interested to see how they were going to do. I knew Chris [Davies] before, I knew he was a good coach. And obviously they smashed it last season.
“For me now, seeing how they’ve gone up and down, I’ve seen what the board want to do and their vision for the club. For the point I’m at now, my age and how I feel physically, this is the perfect time for me to come back.”
Things are obviously very different at the club now, and there is a real belief that Birmingham can achieve success in 2025/26. For Gray, the idea of being involved in that is very exciting indeed.
“There’s a real difference now. There’s a buzz around the city. Fans are back on board, full houses in League One; you don’t see that a lot,” he added. “I’m excited to be a part of it. The club is only going up and I want to be a part of helping them get back where they belong.”
Demarai Gray can be a gamechanger for Birmingham City next season
While some experts have doubted Gray’s potential impact for Birmingham, he is a player of undoubted quality who could and should be something of a cheat code in the Championship.
The players around Gray will surely benefit from his talent, with the likes of Jay Stansfield and fellow new signing Kyogo Furuhashi likely to be licking their lips at the prospect of the service he can provide from wide areas.
Furuhashi in particular needs that service if he is to thrive, and with his goalscoring ability and Gray’s creativity, Birmingham could well be challenging at the very top of the table in 2025/26.