The second half of Thursday’s 2-1 win against Brisbane Roar wasn’t exactly a show-stopper. Jesse Marsch rung the changes at the break, and a disjointed and unfamiliar Leeds United line-up struggled to connect as the Australian outfit grew in confidence and intensity.
It will have done Leeds’ preparations some good to be under a concerted period of pressure, with the defence put under considerably more strain than the first-half - which at times resembled a training drill. But there was sloppiness in possession and a vulnerability out of it that requires some work.
One shining light in that lacklustre second 45 was Darko Gyabi. The 18-year-old was one of several half-time changes, coming into the midfield with Tyler Adams, and produced a considered and mature first performance in a Leeds shirt. The teenager looked composed beyond his years in tight midfield spaces and often dropped deep to dictate the play.
READ MORE: Jesse Marsch excited by Darko Gyabi's potential as youngster catches his eye with Leeds United
Jesse Marsch spoke of his excitement at the arrival of Gyabi during his pre-Aston Villa press conference, adding that the midfielder joins the core of top young talents in West Yorkshire whose influence on the first team is growing significantly.
“We were excited from the start about the possibility of adding him to the group and now watching him live and seeing his mentality to improve, even more so,” Marsch said when asked about Gyabi. “I would say with him, with Archie Gray, with Cree Summerville, with Sam Greenwood and with Joffy Gelhardt, we have a core of really young talented players that we think can be a big part of the future.”
Gelhardt’s prominence has been steadily growing for several months now. His goals and moments of magic have won games - including Thursday’s powerful header - and he has long been considered a first-team player. Similarly, Sam Greenwood was increasingly leaned on during the latter stages of last season, with six of his seven league appearances coming after Marsch’s arrival.
It is those two who are leading the pack of future stars - Crysencio Summerville, Cody Drameh, Archie Gray and now Gyabi - whose influence on the first team will grow next season.
Summerville may have joined the leading pack himself were it not for a season-ending ankle injury in April, and has a chance now to develop away from the shadow of Raphinha. Regular minutes evaded the winger but came to Drameh in bucketloads. The full-back signed on loan for Cardiff City in January, played 22 times in the second-tier and won the Bluebirds Player of The Season award.
Still just 16-years-old, Archie Gray has been one of the most promising players so far this summer. The teenager looked absurdly comfortable surrounded by senior players and proved physically capable to compete in Marsch’s midfield, encouraging the Whites boss to come out and label the teenager a first-team player.
And now Whites fans’ first glimpse of Gyabi has reignited a similar feeling of outstanding promise, with the £5million price tag all of a sudden looking like a bargain. The thought was to integrate Gyabi into the first-team gradually, alongside regular football for the under-21s, but performances likes Thursday's in competitive football will only accelerate that process.
A combination of the under-21s now being in the second-tier plus the introduction of five substitutes will only increase the opportunity for senior football, and the prominence of all Leeds’ young talents in pre-season suggests they will take on more responsibility. And pre-season has shown that they are all up to the task. The future at Elland Road looks very, very promising indeed.
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