They have reached an agreement with Leeds United worth £5 million over the sale of the young midfielder, who had been on the radar of Leeds chief Victor Orta for quite some time now.
The Ghanaian youngster’s move to Leeds United comes in the midst of speculation pointing toward Kalvin Phillips joining Manchester City ahead of the new season. Leeds United and Manchester City are reportedly in agreement over the sale of the English international, who looks set to put an end to his career at Elland Road this summer.
One can be forgiven for drawing a parallel between the transfer sagas of Phillips and Gyabi, who is a central midfielder by trade and from a tactical standout, could be a like-for-like replacement for his Leeds counterpart.
“I got Darko straight away,” Watling says. “I went down to Cray Wanderers and spoke to his coach. I said, ‘I really like him and we’d love to get him in but I don’t want to upset you or upset what’s going on. What can I do for you?’ I offered to come and do some sessions and I ended up sorting them out with some equipment. Darko came into Millwall and on the second session, he got signed.”
Gyabi and his brother Junior — studying at university in Northampton — were grounded boys who did well at school. Gyabi did A-levels in Spanish and English literature and was able to speak Spanish during his negotiations with Leeds’ director of football, Victor Orta. “I actually had the two of them coaching a little bit when they were at Cray,” Owen says. “I’d pay them £10 each to help with the younger groups, a bit of pocket money for refereeing games and things like that. The first time they got paid, I said to them ‘go buy your mum some flowers’. I was only joking but they did. I liked that.”
Gyabi left for Manchester without his family. His mother considered going with him but decided to remain in London and Gyabi moved in with a host family, later switching to accommodation at City’s training ground. Watling told his mum, Agnes, that Gyabi was “the type of kid who will swim (at City). He won’t sink there.” Gyabi was playful and vibrant, in Watling’s words, and rapidly learning the fundamentals of the game. At City, he was quickly expected to adapt to a collective style of play, less off-the-cuff than he had been at Millwall.
“I spoke to him after he’d been up in Manchester for a little while and he told me he was sleeping all the time,” Owen says. “It was hard, but in a way that he liked. For two months, I don’t think he went out at all. He got his head down and put everything into his football to make sure he settled in. I knew he’d be fine there. He’s level-headed, he’s got all the talent. He was a little star from the start.”
Gyabi with Steve Owen on day he signed for City
Gyabi coped well with the transition to City. Two years ago he was a leading player in the Under-18 side who won their league title. Last season he helped City’s Under-23s do the same, appearing as a substitute as the club sealed the championship with a 2-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road.
Jesse Marsch, Leeds’ head coach, was in the crowd that night and sources close to Gyabi say that outing cemented the move. Provided the paperwork is processed in time, he will be on the plane when Leeds’ senior squad fly to Australia for a pre-season tour in a week, in the mix from the outset.
(Photo: Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
“He dropped into school on Tuesday to say ‘hi’ to some of us and he couldn’t have been happier,” Owen says. “He was showing me videos of him at Man City and he was talking about a couple of goals he scored in a game against Leeds. He said to me, ‘maybe that’s why they wanted me’. I said, ‘Darko, a club like that doesn’t sign you because of a couple of goals. They’ll have been watching you for ages.’ But I think when you do see him, you like him straight away.
“He was getting ready to go up for his medical and he wasn’t getting ahead of himself. He wasn’t going on about the first team — more the under-23s and how good it would be to play for them. And he never mentioned money to me once. It wasn’t in his head. Those days when I gave him and his brother a tenner, they were happy with that.”
