Leeds United bolstered their senior squad sufficiently across an arduous summer of unpredictability, with Daniel Farke admittedly enduring a transfer window like no other in what was his first since being appointed manager of this infamous institution.
The German is the man tasked with leading the Whites back to the Premier League after their relegation last season, and given his history in doing so with Norwich City, there are arguably few better placed to engineer such a success.
What makes his mission slightly easier is the quality of playing staff he has inherited, despite the changes he was forced to oversee that saw stars like Luis Sinisterra, Max Wober, Marc Roca and Jack Harrison all depart.
To counter this, he recruited some quality of his own, employing the likes of Jaidon Anthony, Joe Rodon, Glen Kamara and Joel Piroe to plug such gaps.
The 46-year-old will seek to blend all these new faces into a tactic able to win promotion at the first time of asking, but arguably the biggest loss of the window came late on.
Having seen one proposed move to Chelsea fall through, Tyler Adams was not to be denied his departure, joining AFC Bournemouth in late August.
It could be argued that, of anyone who featured last term, nobody came close to the levels of the USA captain. This will not be a star easy to replace, but there is a fine crop of youth talent that could hand Farke some hope of an instant successor.
How good was Tyler Adams?
Having been signed from RB Leipzig as Jesse Marsch sought to add a few stars from the Red Bull family that he had just left, the relentless midfield general was expected to uphold his all-action philosophy with a tireless work rate and economical passing in the engine room.
Given their shared nationality too, this seemed like a deal made in heaven.
However, only one of these two turned out to be a success for the club, with the manager eventually sacked the following February. Many would even argue that such a decision flattered him, with his position looking somewhat tenuous even before the World Cup.
Despite that, the 24-year-old continued to perform all season, with a set of unfortunate injuries proving pivotal in their push for survival. After all, the American’s 6.98 average rating had made him the club’s highest-rated of those who made five or more appearances, with that figure buoyed by a 82% pass accuracy, one key pass, 1.5 interceptions and 3.7 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
Only three other players including Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo actually made more tackles than the Whites’ hard-working gem, who earned praise from reporter Tim Thornton for forging his own path at Elland Road: “He’s done really, really well. He knows his game. When he came in, he said, ‘I’m not going to be the man to replace Kalvin Phillips, I’m my own man.’
“There are similarities in the way he plays with Phillips in the way that he breaks play up and screens the defence. But he’s also very different in a lot of ways. So, he’s done brilliantly.”
His absence will be felt heavily, and it marks yet another summer window where their star midfielder has departed. At least with Phillips’ exit they recouped a massive £42m fee, whereas Adams’ sale only brought back £23m, marginally more than they had initially paid to bring him from Germany.
Given the manner of his exit, fans will hope that he endures a career similar to how their academy graduate has done at the Etihad, as they once again bid to return to that level.
Fortunately, there is a rich crop of young talent just waiting to be unleashed at Thorp Arch, many of whom have already begun taking huge strides towards cementing their place in the first team.
Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville provide an injection of youthful exuberance and fearlessness on the wings, whilst Archie Gray continues to impress in the midfield alongside the 22-year-old Ethan Ampadu.
However, in Darko Gyabi they have invested in a young maestro capable of surpassing all of them, given how much of a coup it was for them to pry the 19-year-old from Pep Guardiola’s side back in 2022.
Who is Darko Gyabi?
Although the £5m fee marked a sizable sum for someone so unproven, it marked an investment into the sparkling future he boasted, which the U21 boss Michael Skubala sought to outline:
“He works hard, Darko works really hard. You can probably see in his performances that he’s working really hard.
“I think we have a really good, young, competitive midfield group at the moment within the 21s and you’ve seen Darko get good minutes in there. I think his performances are getting better and better and I thought against Forest he was really strong.”
With just five senior appearances since moving, chances have been limited as they were likely wary to throw him into such a toxic environment. However, he has shone for the youth teams, having maintained a 6.93 average rating in the Football League Trophy last term, alongside a 79% pass accuracy, one key pass, 2.3 tackles and 1.7 clearances per game, via Sofascore.
Boasting both the creativity and defensive know-how to emulate Adams’ success from last term, journalist Joe Donnohue reserved some of the highest praise for the teenage sensation back in March:
“Granted, it’s against a team bottom of the league with only one point, but Darko Gyabi’s performance tonight is the most complete midfield display by any LUFC player, at any level, (I’ve seen) this season. Passing, strength, presence, awareness, use of his body – class.”
The fact that he is already dominating at this level suggests he is more than ready for the step up, with their relegation to the Championship arguably proving favourable to allow his sustained emergence into the first team in an easier environment.
Should he be handed his chance by Farke, tasked with replacing Adams, by the time they hopefully earn their promotion again Gyabi will be more than ready to tackle the Premier League and lead his side into a brighter future.
