Allardyce Could Unleash “Class” £5m Leeds Teen
Desperate times call for desperate measures, with Leeds United having made the decision to appoint Sam Allardyce – who has been out of work for almost two years – in order to help secure their Premier League survival.
Despite having already parted ways with Jesse Marsch earlier in the campaign, the Whites have opted for one more roll of the dice by showing Javi Gracia the door, with the club still in a perilous position with just four games of the season left to play.
With the end of season fast approaching, the incoming Englishman will have little time to work his magic in an attempt to revive the struggling Elland Road outfit, with it yet to be seen whether it is merely a case of too little too late in the bid to stave off the drop.
The 68-year-old will be taking charge of a side that is currently on a run of five league games without a win following the weekend defeat away to Bournemouth, with the current crop of senior stars having undoubtedly been well below-par of late.
With that in mind, it may be wise for Allardyce to turn to the Yorkshire side’s pool of exciting youngsters in order to find a potential relegation solution, with 19-year-old Darko Gyabi seemingly one such talent who could provide a much-needed lift the floundering first-team.
Who is Leeds United’s Darko Gyabi?
With Leeds having forked out around £5m to sign the highly-rated teenager from Manchester City last summer, the England U19 international has gone on to feature just three times at senior level since then, having rather bizarrely been overlooked by both Marsch and his successor.
Despite a potential slot in the squad having emerged amid Tyler Adams’ injury woes, the departing Gracia has still favoured a midfield pairing of Marc Roca and Weston McKennie in recent times, despite the latter man, in particular, having looked “out of his depth“, according to pundit Jon Newsome.
Signed on an initial loan deal from Juventus in January, McKennie has been unable to have the desired impact at Elland Road thus far, with Newsome also stating the game merely “passes him by“, such are his woes.
The United States international can “comes across as lazy” and “look slow” when he’s “not playing well” – as per transfer insider Dean Jones – with those shortcomings having been evident against the Cherries last time out, as the 6 foot dud was a ‘complete passenger’ according to Leeds Live’s William Jackson.
As such, there is nothing really to lose from giving young Gyabi a chance to shine moving forward, with the London-born gem having shown his quality in the youth ranks so far this season, notably contributing two goals and three assists in 17 Premier League 2 games.
The exciting talent only recently ‘showed his class‘ in the defeat to West Bromwich Albion’s U21 side – as per Jackson – having also been branded as “class” by journalist Joe Donnohue after putting in the “most complete midfield display” of any Leeds player “at any level” this season against Derby County back in March.
While there’s no guarantee that the former Etihad starlet would be able to replicate such standout displays amid an intense scrap for survival with the first-team, the woes of McKennie and co should ensure that Allardyce at least contemplates a promotion for the youngster.
