Bundesliga Q&A with Demarai Gray

Having just signed a contract in Leverkusen a few weeks ago, what are your impressions?
“It’s a very nice place, a very nice city for a start and the environment
around the club is good. I think on the pitch, things are not going as well
as we’d want them to go but it’s still early doors for me and I’m excited to
obviously help the team turn things around, just for the future of the
club.”

What reasons were decisive for your move to Leverkusen?
“I think I wanted a new challenge and try a new league. And I think the
way the team plays, the style of play, it suits me very well. Obviously, I’ve
done some research on the club and spoke to a few people at the club but
I’m happy with the decision that I’ve made and like I said, I’m just excited
to work here and continue to develop as a player.”

Moving to another country can be a daunting prospect. Despite the
restrictions, how have you settled in, in Germany? How does the club help
you?
“Yes, like I said, it’s a good environment to be in, it’s the first month now
and I feel very comfortable. It is a new environment, leaving where you
were born is going to be difficult, friends, family, and stuff at home. That
is how it is sometimes with football and like I said, this decision was a
football decision for me to come here and it’s the best place for me to be
right now. And like I said, I’m excited to develop and improve as a
player.”

You really did a lot of work finding out about your new club. What exactly
did you do?

“Yeah, obviously when you get interest from a club, you have a look, see
how they’re doing in the table and I was watching a few games from
December and the start of the season, to be fair. Then obviously, Timothy
signed before me, a few weeks before me, so I spoke to him, spoke to a
few other people around the club and yeah, just got a good feel for the
club and they kind of won me over, the research I’d done and speaking to
some people.”

How do you see your role as a right-footed left winger in Leverkusen’s
offence so far?
“Yeah, that’s always been my strongest position, playing off the left,
because I like to go inside or outside. But I think I can help the team, I’ve
had a good start, personally, contributed with a few goals and assists, so I
just need to keep that up, continue the form and help the team as much
as possible.”

Bayer 04 have a lot of options on the wings. What do you think your
chances are here?
“I’m confident, no player is guaranteed to start, you have to work, you
have to train properly, I haven’t played consistent football for a long time,
so I’m hungry to get that run of games and it all starts on the training
pitch. My main focus is to work hard in training and when I get my
opportunities, just take my chances.”

Now that you have been in Bayer´s Bundesliga starting XI for the first
time, were you very nervous and do you want to start more often?
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous. I used to get a bit nervous before games
when I was younger, but you grow out of that. I’m normally calm before
games, just focus and have a plan in my head of what I want to do in the
game and I felt good, I felt confident going into the game and I feel I
played well. It was just unfortunate with the result, which is the most
important.”

During your first Bundesliga minutes you scored straight away to make it
5-2 against Stuttgart. How would you describe your first Bundesliga goal
and your feelings?
“It’s a great feeling, something that I missed for a long time, having not
played for a while. But yeah, it’s everything I was waiting for and I
couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, it was a good way to really

introduce myself to the team, because I only met the team two days
before that. I think that let me settle in easier, help my confidence and
help me feel more comfortable around the players. Yeah, it was a great
start and like I said, I’m in a bit of good form right now so I need to
continue it.”

4 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists. How would you sum up your start in
Leverkusen?
“Yeah, it’s been good for me personally, it makes it a bit easier for me to
settle and it’s good for my confidence because I was a bit low on
confidence before coming here, having not played for a long time. But the
players and the staff are good for me to keep working and so far,
whatever I’m doing is working well.”

Leverkusen’s next match is against Mönchengladbach, before welcoming
Armina Bielefeld a week later, what are your expectations?
“I’ve only been here a month, in this league, every team and every game
are difficult. Obviously, Gladbach are a big team. Even the teams
underneath us, as you can see with the results we’ve had in the last
month, six weeks, so it’s difficult, when you’re not at 100% you can get
punished in this league. So, I think as a team, we just need to regroup, I
think every team has a bad spell, a bad patch, but we have quality players
and when we’re at it, as I’ve researched and seen before I’ve come here,
the team can beat anyone. So, I think we just need to stick together,
focus and be positive and we can win.”

How important would it be to win again (to play international next
season)?
“Yeah, crucial. I think when you go through these moments, three points
can lift a team and I think from there we just need to get a bit of
consistency, a run of wins just to lift the spirits a bit more. But every
game for us now is crucial, we have our objectives, our targets, and we
have to keep fighting until the end.”

How did you get into football in Britain?
“My mum says when I was about three years old, I’d just be kicking
anything around the house and from then, she took me to like a summer
school when I was four, just to play football with the other kids and that
was it really, I carried on from there. I’ve always loved football, always

out playing football, in the house playing football, grandparents’ house
playing football, so that was just built in me. I played for my local team
until I was 10 years old, then signed for Birmingham City. Made my debut
at 17 for Birmingham, then gone to Leicester at 19, so it has been a very
nice pathway for me.”

Who has been there to support you in your career to date?
“I would say my family really, from the start, my mum, my uncles.
Without them, I wouldn’t be here now, they sacrificed a lot of time to
constantly take me to football, training, games, every week, all over the
country. They have always supported me, always had my best interest
and backed every decision I wanted to make, so a lot of credit goes to
them.”

Tell us something about your idols? Who are they and why?
“Growing up, Thierry Henry, the Brazilian Ronaldo. But when Cristiano
Ronaldo went to United, I think it was 2003, that’s when I became a big
Cristiano Ronaldo fan and from then I’ve just followed him, his journey,
the way he has developed as a player. I think for me as someone who
plays in the same position, he is the perfect player to watch and try to
mirror his development.”

Tell us about how you came to Leicester and a few months later you were
a Premier League champion?
“Yeah, it was strange, I always struggle trying to explain it because it was
so quick. But yeah, I’ve gone from playing in the Championship with
Birmingham to all of a sudden going into the Premier League for a team
that’s top of the table. We were just winning every game, or drawing,
unbeaten basically, except for the big clubs, basically winning every game
and we won the title. But it’s hard to explain because it was so quick, it
was like I was in a bubble for six months. The longer that goes on, the
more I take it in, still to this day. It is a moment that will always be with
me and obviously Ranieri is the manager who wanted me, so I owe many
thanks to him and the people at the top of Leicester City. It’s something
that I’ll cherish forever.”

Why are more and more top British talents deciding to make the leap to
the Bundesliga? (e.g., Jadon Sancho)

“I think the game is kind of changing a bit. Over the last few years, more
players are venturing out here. I think there are good opportunities out
here and just saying for me, personally, I just wanted a new challenge.
Some other players might come for a loan move for experience. It’s a big
club, Leverkusen, they are in European football, these are the levels I
want to be playing at. The competitions I want to be playing in and this
club is good for me, good for my development, a very good coach,
coaching staff and a good bunch of players here. From the first day I
came here, I noticed the standard in training, the tempo. I would advise
other players to come out here, if they asked me, it is a very good league,
a difficult league and I’m looking forward to learning more about the
league and developing more as a player.”

Bayer Leverkusen is known for its scouting of up-and-coming players from
around the world. What is it like to be part of such a melting pot of
international talent? Have you made close connections with particular
members of the team?
“Having interest from a club like this, I was a bit surprised, because I
didn’t really play much football before I came out here. So, it was a good
feeling to know such a big club had interest in me and that’s why I
grabbed it with two hands and I was pretty adamant on joining here. It is
a very cultural team, talent from everywhere and it’s a good bunch of
people, good changing room. I think there is a good togetherness. On the
pitch, we need to be more together, fight more, but yeah, it’s a good
team, good people. Obviously, I know Timothy from England, but I’ve
made good relationships with other players already, so it’s an easy group
to get along with and it has made my settling in period a lot easier.”

And? Any close connections?
“Obviously, me and Tim are tight because we knew each other before.
Jeremie, Edmond is funny, Jona, Nadi, so yeah, there are a lot of mates
I’ve made. It’s a very cultural squad, so the language barrier is sometimes
difficult, but that’s what I’m here to do, learn new cultures, learn the
German language, so it’ll be good.”

Have you identified differences between football in the Premier League
and in the Bundesliga?
“Big difference, especially for me now. I’m going into games not really
knowing much about every team, whereas in England I’d have good
knowledge. What I’m noticing is the way we play, there is more space, the
game opens up a lot quicker, which is also good for me. The way we play
as a team suits me well, but I think in this league, there is no easy game,
every team has its qualities, every team can make it difficult for you, so
it’s something I’m excited to be involved in and just learn a new trade,
new league and it will all help me develop as a player.”

Finally, what are your personal expectations for this season – especially
after the defeat against Freiburg on Sunday?
“Personally, I don’t really like to set to many targets or expectations. I’d
just like to do what I do and if I’m feeling in good form, I can help the
team win games and contribute with goals and assists. In the short-term,
I just need to keep working hard, keep taking my opportunities and keep
working on my fitness. I think as a team, we have high expectations, we
set big goals for ourselves and as a group we just need to keep working
and focusing on doing that.”