New Signing Analysed: Darko Gyabi
Adam Price assesses the return of Leeds United midfielder Darko Gyabi, this time on a season long loan.
Plymouth Argyle have completed the loan signing of Darko Gyabi from Leeds United. Relax. You haven’t woken up in January during the dark days of the Ian Foster era.
No, Gyabi has rejoined on another loan deal, this time a season-long one, from the Yorkshire side. Of course, his first spell at Home Park was cut short (cruelly, given it meant he never got to play under anyone other than Foster) due to groin surgery. His return could bring the best of both worlds, allowing for a fresh start whilst also providing the platform to build upon some of the positive signs we saw last season.
I have a feeling I know what you’re thinking: we’ve already seen Gyabi play many times; is one of these New Signing Analysed pieces really necessary? Well, yes and no. I grant you that Gyabi will hardly be a completely different player to the one we saw just a few months ago, particularly as he spent much of the intervening period injured. I do, however, think there is value in looking into his numbers from last season, particularly to see how he could fit into the new system we assume will be in place this term.
Besides, I wasted countless hours last summer writing similar pieces for Morgan Whittaker, Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz. What’s a few more?
Has much changed?
I’ll start by covering the obvious point: we’ve been here before. Gyabi first signed for Argyle six months ago next week, and we scoured over the numbers at the time to see if we could draw any conclusions. That piece is still available here.
Analysing Gyabi in January proved problematic, with the player having only spent a single minute on the pitch in senior league action before joining. Of course, the advantage this time around is that we have a bigger sample size with which to investigate. And we will. Nonetheless, I think it’s a reasonable time to mention that many of the key messages haven’t changed.
Even from an initial look at Gyabi, some things were obvious. He was clearly a physical presence, could be an asset both with and without the ball, and he would be willing to fight for possession at any opportunity. We could tell all of that just from his numbers at the Under-20 World Cup with England, and it proved to be the case at Argyle as well.
In that tournament, we also saw how effective Gyabi can be in possession at his best. In the piece, I made reference to this goal where he picked the ball up on the left, embarked on a driving run at the defence, and found the bottom corner.
I was reminded of that goal when I saw Gyabi play against Middlesbrough in by far his best performance in an Argyle shirt. Again he picked the ball up on the left, again he ran at the defence, and again he got a shot away. He didn’t find the net on this occasion, but Matthew Sorinola was there to tap home the rebound.
So overall, no. I don’t think an awful lot has changed from when I embarked on this writing journey six months ago. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to read on (please, please do), but if you were to only read the previous Gyabi analysis you’d probably be very familiar with some of the conclusions. Perhaps aside from the misguided optimism that an Ian Foster team could function properly.
A battling midfielder
Much has been made of Gyabi’s physicality, both by myself and Wayne Rooney. Indeed, when Gyabi was announced as an Argyle player for a second time, Rooney described the player as “powerful and athletic.” He is absolutely right. Last season we saw how Gyabi wanted to use his body to win possession of the ball, and he was never one to shy away from a battle.
If anything, I think the extent to which Gyabi brought a level of physicality to Argyle was underestimated. I must admit that, whilst analysing his numbers last season, I was gobsmacked by just how willing he was to do the dirty work.
Consider this: across the entirety of his last Argyle spell, Gyabi averaged 39.83 touches per 90 minutes. That’s not a high number. In fact, only three Argyle players, all attackers, touched the ball less regularly than Gyabi. There is an obvious caveat here – he played all of his games under Foster, who didn’t place a great deal of emphasis on keeping possession. Either way, Gyabi didn’t regularly find himself on the ball.
The story with his duels is completely different. Last season, Gyabi won an average of 5.57 ground duels per 90. That was a figure beaten only by Tyreik Wright, who played just 102 minutes in all. In other words, Gyabi won more ground duels per 90 than any other Argyle player to have made more than one start.
Consider what this means: Gyabi was rarely involved in possession for much of his time at Argyle. And yet, he still won battles more regularly than any of his traditional teammates. When we say he’s physical, athletic and gets stuck in, we really mean it. Those numbers are remarkable.
Gyabi won’t win every duel he enters. Last season’s success rate of 53% was decent, but not spectacular. What he will do is enter those duels, and win them with enough regularity to have an impact regardless. Every opponent will be left in no doubt about his presence.
We always knew from watching him that Gyabi was a battler. But I don’t think we quite appreciated the extent to which that was true.
Key to the midfield?
One opinion I have changed since writing the initial piece is how Gyabi fits into a system. Based on his Under-20 World Cup outings, I was hopeful that he could be effective in any midfield position in Foster’s 3-4-3 system. And in fairness, Foster did use Gyabi in both deeper and more aggressive roles during his brief Home Park stay.
Looking back, I think it’s reasonable to suggest neither role really suited Gyabi. He wasn’t in possession enough, nor was he particularly proficient enough technically, to be an effective attacking midfielder. Playing him deeper, meanwhile, came with its own risks. I’ve spoken positively about his willingness to engage in duels, but that carried the risk of over-commitment, particularly with no midfielders behind him to back him up.
Finding the best position for Gyabi will be key. We know about his talents, and his shortcomings, and it’s the job of any good manager to exacerbate the strengths whilst negating the weaknesses. Rooney has been known to occasionally deploy a 4-3-3 during his time in management, and I’m of the belief that this shape will allow Gyabi to perform at his best.
See, right now (before any additional midfield signings I dearly hope Argyle make), Gyabi offers something different to the rest of the central options. Jordan Houghton and Adam Forshaw both operate best as deep lying playmakers at the base of a midfield. Adam Randell is a bit of an all-rounder. Callum Wright is much more at home as a number 10. Will Jenkins-Davies is an unknown youngster.
Each player has their own merits, but there’s nobody I’d really trust to pick the ball up from deep and drive at the opposition. Randell could grow into such a role, but he’s not there yet. Conversely, Gyabi is exactly the sort of player who can progress the ball from midfield at pace. He attempted 2.67 dribbles per 90 last season, comfortably more than any other Argyle midfielder, and only beaten in the ranks as a whole by three rather predictable names.
So why 4-3-3? Well, consider having Gyabi on the left of the midfield three, with Houghton or Forshaw behind and A. N. Other to the right. The added protection would allow Gyabi to battle for the ball, as we know he likes to do, without having to worry too much about what happens if he loses the duel. Think back to how Antoni Sarcevic used his physicality to press from midfield as a blueprint.
On the ball, this system would allow Gyabi to pick up the ball in a deep position, with enough space ahead of him to demonstrate his dribbling. Playing on the left of the midfield trio would allow him to gain possession in similar areas to those we saw against Boro, or at the Under-20 World Cup. If he does it often enough, the goals may yet follow.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be trusted. After all, I also had optimism that Foster’s system could get the best out of Gyabi. Still, we’re working with significantly more evidence now, and all the signs are pointing towards a role in a 4-3-3 being effective.
If Rooney can make it work, Gyabi would prove to be a crucial piece of the jigsaw. There’s every chance he’ll be a key component of Argyle’s midfield.
Tapping into the potential
Gyabi is far from the finished article. He is undoubtedly talented, and if he puts that talent to good use he has all the tools to become an excellent footballer. However, he isn’t without his flaws. His passing, for example, simply must improve.
And improvement is possible, particularly when we consider the circumstances surrounding the move. When Gyabi first joined Argyle, he was a 19-year-old given just a few months to make an impact. He’s now 20, and by the end of his loan spell he’ll be 21 (hardly groundbreaking news I know). You’d expect Gyabi to be a different, much better player a year-and-a-half after he first signed.
We can point to several variables that Gyabi has in his favour this time around. The most obvious is that he has much more time to familiarise. Last time around he was thrown directly in to a relegation battle, under a manager who wasn’t up to the challenge. Now, with pre-season training recently getting underway, Gyabi can get straight to work whilst still settling back in, and spend time working on his new head coach’s system before it’s tested in the heat of battle.
I will admit it feels weird to be speaking this way. With a loan move, it’s usually the parent club caring more about potential and improvement, with the borrowing side focusing much more on the here and now. Perhaps a permanent deal would give us the chance to get even more excited, but with Leeds spending a rumoured £5 million on Gyabi two years ago, that was hardly a realistic prospect. We’ve also seen in the past, to our own detriment, that players improving too quickly during a loan spell can be swiftly recalled.
Still, it goes without saying that a player getting better and better whilst at Argyle is preferable to stagnation. Ultimately, if Gyabi rapidly improves, it’ll be Leeds who feel the major benefits. That’s the nature of a loan player. It’d still be worth Argyle while if he does though – if the player takes his opportunity, this really is a move that could suit all parties. Let’s hope he does.