'I couldn't say no' - Archie Gray's first words on Leeds United exit and Tottenham appeal

European football with Tottenham Hotspur was an opportunity Archie Gray says he could not turn down once Leeds United had agreed a transfer fee. On Tuesday morning, confirmation came through of the £40m package that takes the 18-year-old to the Premier League side on a six-year contract.

Four years were left to run on Gray’s contract at Elland Road, where he rapidly became a fans’ favourite, but a non-promotion clause allowed Spurs to make Leeds an offer they could not refuse. Speaking to Tottenham’s official website, Gray said this was a chance he could not say no to.

“It's obviously a massive club and an opportunity I couldn’t really turn down,” he said. “I'm just really excited to play and get started with the team.

READ MORE: Leeds United confirm £40m switch with Archie Gray and Joe Rodon trading places

“It still hasn't sunk in, to be honest, and I don't think it will for the next few days and until we have played a few games and until I got to meet everyone. I'm just really excited and looking forward to it and it's a massive opportunity for me.

“When Spurs came and I had the opportunity to play in the Champions League eventually and the Europa League this year, I couldn’t say no. I know so many players here, not so much the first team, but the young lads and obviously another thing [is] it's a massive project under Ange [Postecoglou] and something I want to be part of.”

Gray would admit he is actually a big Glasgow Celtic fan, who, like his whole family, adores what Postecoglou did in Scotland. He is now excited to work under the Australian and expects there will be aspects of Premier League football that suit him better than the Championship.

“Part of the Premier League would suit me more than some of the Championship would and I think I'm ready for it,” he said. “The fitness side of it suits my game so much and the technical aspects of it really suit me as well.

“Quite a lot of it suits me, but there's obviously loads of things I need to start learning and I need to do it in pre-season and I need to get ready for a different league and I need to get ready for that. I'm hoping I'll be able to learn really quickly and perform to my best every game.”

There was one mention of Leeds in the three-minute video Tottenham published. He said the connection with the fans at Elland Road had been a major part of life in West Yorkshire and that was mirrored in what’s going on at Spurs.

“I'm just hoping to play as many games as I can and help push the team on even more and if it's in training every day, being as competitive as I can, pushing the players and trying to get into the team, trying to stay in the team,” he said. “We've got a really strong connection with fans, which I think is really important as well.

“That was massive at Leeds and this club’s got the same thing going on with the fans. Like I said, that's really important. I want to create a strong bond with the fans and the club so I'm just really looking forward to that.”