Two Premier League transfers before the age of 19 is no mean feat and it looks likely to be Darko Gyabi’s fate with a Leeds United switch expected to go through. The 18-year-old began his short career with Millwall, but proved so impressive Manchester City did not wait around.
The south-London native went into The Den’s youth system, but it was not long before he was turning heads. At 14, he could not say no to the Premier League giants at Etihad Stadium.
In November 2018, when the move was going through, then Millwall boss Neil Harris spoke about a 14-year-old Gyabi. Reports at the time suggested the Lions could net more than £1m for the teenager after compensation plus club and international add-ons.
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“As the manager of the football club, you want to see the opportunity for your young players to thrive, but it’s very difficult in the modern game to keep players who have their heads turned by huge, world-renowned clubs,” said Harris. “Man City are that huge club.
“We talk about transfer fees for young players and I find it very difficult. Dealing with players that have played 50, 60 international games, and then you’re dealing with 13, 14-year-olds.
“It’s very tough. This is one that has been publicised, but loads of these go on through the course of a season at our club and everywhere else in the country and don’t get reported.”
Gyabi is someone Leeds are understood to have tracked for several windows and found multiple enquiries knocked back about his availability. A powerful, box-to-box midfielder, Harris had no doubts about his quality four years ago.
“I’ve seen Darko play myself a couple of times and he’s an exceptional young player, but when Man City come calling it’s very difficult to make players want to stay,” he said. “If players aren’t going to stay then you have to make sure you get the best deal for the club.
“We wish Darko all the best for the future and we hope to see him on the big stage one day.”
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