Leeds United did not opt to make any additions to their first-team squad during the January transfer window, which officially closed for business last Monday.
The Whites are currently top of the Championship table and will attempt to win automatic promotion to the Premier League with the same squad that got them into such a strong position to begin with.
Daniel Farke and the recruitment team will then be able to reassess the squad in the summer when they know what division they will be preparing for.
Whilst supporters could focus on potential transfer targets, there may also be stars out on loan who could return to Elland Road to play a part for the Whites, including Plymouth Argyle loanee Darko Gyabi, who played against Liverpool on Sunday and dominated the match.
Darko Gyabi’s performance against Liverpool
The Premier League leaders turned up to Pride Park with a front three that consisted of reported £49m signing Luis Diaz, £45m signing Diogo Jota, and £12.5m signing Federico Chiesa.
This meant that Gyabi, who lined up in a defensive midfield role, was tasked with keeping £106.5m worth of forwards quiet to give Plymouth a chance of progressing through to the next round.
As you can see in the highlights above, the Championship strugglers secured a historic win, thanks to a penalty from Ryan Hardie, and Gyabi played a huge role in their success.
The England U20 international, who talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed as a “standout”, dominated the Liverpool midfield and attack and helped to keep the £106.5m duo quiet with his defensive strength in the middle of the park, as he won six of his eight ground duels.
Gyabi won four tackles and made one interception without being dribbled past a single time, and these statistics illustrate how dominant and almost faultless he was from a defensive perspective to help carry his team over the line against the Reds.
Leeds could hit gold with Darko Gyabi
Some supporters may see that Plymouth are rock bottom of the Championship and not think much of the Leeds loanee’s future prospects at Elland Road, but he is still only 20 and has plenty of time left to develop and improve.
The English youngster still has so many years left ahead of him to grow as a player and his experience in the second tier, with 39 Championship appearances for Plymouth since the start of last season, could be invaluable in his development.
|
24/25 Championship |
Darko Gyabi |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
28 |
|
Starts |
24 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
2.4 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
58% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
51% |
As you can see in the table above, Gyabi has been a regular starter in the second tier and, despite his young age, has held his own in physical battles against seasoned professionals.
These statistics suggest that the raw physical materials are there for him to develop into a strong defensive or central midfield option for Leeds in the future, with his exceptional display against Liverpool showing that he can turn it on against high-quality opposition.
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Therefore, Farke could hit gold with Gyabi by bringing him back to Elland Road in the summer, after 18 months of experience with Plymouth, to utilise him as a potential first-team option next season.
