The England Under-21 international was City’s 12th and final signing of a busy summer transfer window
Darko Gyabi has arrived at Hull City determined to make his mark on proceedings, after swapping Elland Road for the MKM Stadium on deadline day.
Gyabi penned a three-year deal at City after the Tigers negotiated an eye-catching deal with Leeds United to effectively get the 21-year-old England Under-21 international on a free transfer, given that the club was working under strict transfer restrictions.
The box-to-box midfielder arrives at the MKM Stadium with a full season of Championship experience at Plymouth Argyle under his belt last term, and made his debut off the bench after 84 minutes on Saturday as City battled back to earn a valuable 2-2 draw in South Wales.
His move wasn’t announced until late on deadline day at the beginning of the month, though he says it had been in the offing for a little while.
“To be fair, it was something that was happening in the background a couple of weeks before that, there were talks, but nothing concrete,” he told Hull Live.
“Everything happened on deadline day, so it feels like it was frantic, but really and truly it wasn’t as bad as maybe people thought or as rushed. It was just having to do it quite quickly, in terms of once it was close, trying to sort out everything. Other than that, it was all good.”
Gyabi, who is the second Whites player to join City this summer, following on from Joe Gelhardt, says settling in to his new surroundings has been no problem, and that the international break before Saturday’s trip to Swansea City helped ease him in gently.
“Very good,” he continued when asked about the welcome so far. “The staff and the players have been really helpful, so I’ve just been able to train without worrying about anything else, so it’s been really good.
“Definitely, I think once there’s no game and you have that much time, it’s easier to get your mind around what’s happening, what’s going on, where you’re gonna be moving to and everything, so I think it was really good to have that time.
“It’s weird because you don’t see all of the team at the same time you come in and there’s players in different situations, people going on international break, people not in as well, but I think that time really helps to settle down, yeah. It’s been good, so I’m excited.”
A product of Cray Wanderers, Millwall and Manchester City’s youth setups, the London-born midfield general cut his teeth in the second tier with Argyle, playing a handful of games the season before last, only to have it cut short by a groin injury. He returned to Home Park under Wayne Rooney last summer, and went on to play 43 times for the Pilgrims in their brave fight to avoid relegation.
He’s had plenty of experience for a player so young, and he’s determined to add goals to his game having managed just one for Argyle last term.
“I’ve come here with an ambition to improve, to help the team and to grow as a person,” he continued. “I think there’s a lot in my game that I can improve and work on, but there are also things that I can add to the team.
“I’m 21 with a three-year contract, so the main goal is to do what I can do on the pitch and focus on coming in every day, working hard, and improving from my last few seasons of professional football. Until now, there’s been a lot of improvement, but there’s also more in my game that I can add and keep working on, and that’s the main goal for me.
“I don’t really care about what’s happening off the pitch, it’s about coming in, training hard, learning from the players that are already here and growing as a person.”
So, what can City fans expect from Gyabi over the course of the next few months? “I like to get on the ball, I like to drive forward with the ball, I like to create chances, and I want to score more goals. That’s something that I want to add to my game, defensively, I think I can also make an impact in. Helping the team in both boxes, and that’s something that I want to do.”
You can listen to a full interview with Darko Gyabi in a bonus episode of the 1904 Club right here
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