Swansea City's record signing revealed he spoke to both West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers when it bcame evident that his future lay away from Watford but neither could offer the attraction of Swansea in terms of the football on offer.
"All the teams after me were in the Premier League and I could have gone to any one of them," Graham told the Evening Post.
"I met everyone. I met West Brom and I met QPR.
"To go to QPR would have been easy, I could have carried on living where I was living and it would have taken me 25 minutes to get there.
"I met West Brom and liked what I heard, but not as much as what I heard from Swansea.
"From the moment I met Brendan to leaving the meeting, I pretty much knew my heart was set on Swansea.
"They're just stats and stats are there to be changed," Graham added when questioned on the Swans status as relegation favourites.
"I'm sure West Ham had a good chance of staying up last year, but that's football. The odds and everything are for the press.
"I know a number of teams have struggled after going up through the play-offs.
"But I just think we've just got to play our football and I'm sure we'll surprise a few people along the way.
"The football factor was a big reason why I chose Swansea City.
"We're going to be underdogs in most games this season and that's great — let's concentrate on ourselves, not our opponents.
"This is a challenge and one I'm looking forward to
"I was in the Premier League as a 19-year-old, I was young and I was raw.
"To make my debut at Old Trafford was something special, but I moved down the leagues because of the type of strikers Middlesbrough brought in — the likes of (Mark) Viduka and (Jimmy Floyd) Hasselbaink.
"I learned from that experience and grew as a player.
"I was in and around the team and then had a stress fracture on my right tibia.
"I sat down with my agent and worked out how to rebuild my career.
"I never thought I'd had it — I was determined to come back and play in the Premier League.
"The belief was always there that I'd get back one day, and thankfully I have."
This article first appeared on JACKARMY.net.