Leeds United remain hopeful of still making some money on the youngster.
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic believes Darko Gyabi will prove a ‘very good investment’ for his side with any future sale of the midfielder set to benefit Leeds United too.
Gyabi joined Hull on a free transfer on deadline day earlier this month, despite having one year left on his Leeds deal at the time. The Tigers are currently under an EFL embargo that prohibits fee-paying transfers but Elland Road chiefs effectively cut that deal a year early to facilitate the move.
Leeds had hoped to get between £3-4million for the 21-year-old, following an impressive loan spell at Plymouth Argyle, and so the decision to sanction a free transfer was somewhat surprising. Elland Road chiefs did, however, negotiate the insertion of a sell-on clause which is worth up to 50 per cent of any future fee.
For that to be worth anything though, Leeds will need to see Gyabi play regularly at Hull and develop in the way they’d hoped when signing him from Manchester City in a £5m deal four years ago. The midfielder got his debut against Swansea City last weekend and head coach Jakirovic is ready to get the best out of his new signing.
"He's a very powerful, powerful player," the Tigers boss told Hull Live. "Born in 2004, but a completely different story from, for example, [19-year-old forward] Joel Ndala, because he has 52 appearances in the Championship.
"This is already an experienced player, a young player. I think it's a very good investment for our club because of the age, because he's now, together with Leeds, I think a 50/50 player, he's a free player.
"We can improve him, he's powerful, good on the ball, good in transitions, good height so he's what we've been looking for until now and I hope he will improve our group a lot, especially in those positions in the midfield zone.”
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Darko Gyabi transfer windfall still possible for Leeds United
Leeds remain hopeful Gyabi can develop to earn them some money and will be encouraged by the form of another recent Elland Road to MKM Stadium switch, with Joe Gelhardt enjoying a fast start to his second Hull loan spell. The young forward scored five goals in a six-month loan stint last season and has already opened his account with two strikes this campaign.
Like Gyabi, Leeds hoped to get between £3-4m for Gelhardt but his desire to return to Hull, coupled with the Championship club’s EFL transfer embargo, led to them facilitating another loan move. The 23-year-old will return to West Yorkshire next summer with one year left on his deal.
Leeds did manage to get their desired fee for another 2024/25 Championship loan exit, with Sam Greenwood joining Polish outfit Pogoń Szczecin for around £3.45m last month. That price-tag represents a record transfer for the Ekstraklasa with hope the attacking midfielder can become a ‘trendsetter’ for English players in the future to make similar moves.
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