Darko Gyabi loved playing for Millwall.

Being a south-east London boy, there was nothing better than playing football for his local club and, crucially, with his friends.

He was clearly on the right path with the Lions, so much so that Manchester City signed him for their academy when he was 14 in November 2018. The deal for Gyabi – described as “an exceptional young player” by Millwall legend Neil Harris – was reported to potentially be worth in excess of £1m.

“For probably the first week, just because of the excitement of playing, it didn’t really hit me,” he admits in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.

“But the first couple of months were tough because I was away from home, away from my family and in a different school with different people.

“I was in digs with Jamie [Gittens] who I knew from playing against him and there was Luke Mbete who is also from London. There was Micah Hamilton and couple of other players already there I knew of and they helped me really settle in.

“It made me more independent in terms of having to wake up and be on time for training or to get the school bus. Instead of being in my own shell, I had to be more expressive and ask for things or when I wanted something done by my digs parents, and being able to speak to them openly as well.”

“In terms of football, it was easy. I was playing with some of the best players in the country week in, week out and I was playing against some of the best players as well.

“It was really, really good for me at that age just to move away from home and learn the game of football, but also just a mature as a young person.”

Gyabi did not earn a call-up to the first team at City during his three-and-a-half-year stay, but he did feature in the EFL Trophy for the U21s; against Doncaster in September 2021, he was in the same team as Ipswich’s Liam Delap, Anderlecht’s Samuel Edozie and Oscar Bobb, with Rico Lewis on the bench.

Nonetheless, he learned, first-hand, how to play ‘the City way’.

“It was the same thing as the first team in terms of the [style of] football and the ideas behind it, so just trying to keep the ball, trying to attack and score goals and create chances, but also being tough to play against in terms of winning the ball and defensively being solid – all those things you see from Manchester City’s first team.

“There was also an element of having the individual ability to do what you can when you have the ball. You see players in the first team like Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden, Jack Grealish; all these players who play within the system, but have also got the ability to change a game on their own. There was a good balance.

“There were some days where there’d be a certain amount of U23 players that would go and train with the first team to help them with numbers, so that’s when you’d get the chance to see the level.

“These guys play at the highest level of football in the Premier League and the Champions League, so being a young player to be able to be around them was really good.

“The one that stood out to me was how humble De Bruyne was, how down to earth he was. He would encourage the younger players. I was playing up against him in training and I was even more surprised at how good he was; he was so sharp, so ahead of the game and everything he did, he got right and rarely made any mistakes.”

Gyabi left Manchester City for Leeds in July 2022, seeking more first team opportunities. And four months after his arrival, he made his Premier League debut – against Manchester City, of all possible opponents.

But 2022/23 was a season of disruption at Elland; Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubala, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce each spent time in charge, but none could steer them away from eventual relegation.

Gyabi only played three times in all competitions for the first team, though he was a regular for the U21s in the Premier League 2.

“That was my first proper season in the men’s game and there was a lot of chaos in terms of the managers,” he says.

“It was tough because certain days I was with the first team, but when a different manager comes in, they need to focus on the older first-team players and the more established players, so sometimes you’d be with the U21s and then maybe you’re needed as a body for the first team.

“It wasn’t easy because there was a lot of change, but it helped me realise how the men’s game is and what happens in the professional world. There was a bit of chaos, but I don’t think it was anything that I didn’t learn from.”

Gyabi was involved in current Leeds boss Daniel Farke’s first five Championship matchday squads in 2023/24, but played just one minute of the 4-3 win away at Ipswich on August 26, 2023.

It was not until January 2024 that he would taste first-team football again, when Plymouth signed him on a loan deal until the end of the season, and there was an unexpected reunion with Ian Foster – who had taken him to the England U20 World Cup in 2023 – appointed six days before Gyabi’s arrival.

For the first time, the midfielder was entrusted with a starting spot in a senior team and he played the entirety of five games, as Plymouth contributed valuable eight points to their survival haul.

Frustratingly, he managed just five more appearances before his season was curtailed by a groin injury.

“I was so disappointed, I’m not going to lie,” he says. “From the first five games to the last five games I played, I think there was a gradual improvement for me and I was adjusting to the games, to the tempo, the league.

“I was disappointed because I wanted to be on the pitch and be learning as much as I could, trying to improve myself. It was annoying because I had started picking up rhythm.

“I wanted to play through the pain, but I was advised that I could make it way worse than what it was if I did. Had I played on, I probably wouldn’t have been able to be playing as much as I am now. I took the decision to have the surgery, which looking at it now, was the right decision.”

A feeling that there was unfinished business brought Gyabi back to Home Park in July – and Wayne Rooney having been appointed just over a month earlier was certainly an added draw.

“When it was him and Pete [Shuttleworth] at the start, I would go back, watch my games with him and he was so knowledgeable about the position I played in as a midfielder because, towards the end of his career, he dropped a bit deeper.

“He would tell me little things to look out for in games and little things to put in the back of my head going into a game. He just always wanted more from me and that was good because I always wanted to give that to him as well.

“He was so knowledgeable and, in training, he would stand next to me and tell me, ‘this is what you can do to impact the game more’, or ‘you need to be here to do this’. He helped me improve my game.”

Gyabi is content with his progression, but accepts he is still in the midst of a key learning and development phase. This is his first full season as a regular in senior football, after all.

“At the start of the season, I had another surgery to fix an infection with the surgery I had in the summer,” he says. “So I wasn’t 100 per cent fit for the Sheffield Wednesday game [on the first day of the season] but I wanted to be out there, wanted to help the team. From there, I’ve built up the momentum.

“I think I’ve progressed really well in terms of just playing games, learning more, maturing, having to speak more in the team, having to give ideas on what I think we can do together as a team, then also just working hard on and off the pitch to try and make sure that I’m available to be able to help out the team.

“Then learning about the men’s game and how to deal with certain situations in the game when we’re winning or when we’re playing away and there’s a lot of pressure and we have to defend, those little things.

“Also making sure I’m also impacting the game myself, because it’s not going to be every game where I play the best, but making sure I’m always working hard. I’m always trying to help out the man next to me and making sure that when it is the time that I am doing well, I’m making sure that I’m maximising it as well.”

He has got his head screwed on, which has clearly played a part in the fact his talents have been recognised by England. Having played for the U15s, U16s, U18s, U19s and U20s, Gyabi made his U21 debut in November 2024 in a 0-0 draw against Spain.

“It’s always good when you’re getting selected for your country. It was really important for me just to stay grounded with it, but I was super, super happy,” he admits.

“I started playing for England when I was U15 and progressing through the age groups to the U21s is something I’m proud of. It is a good sign that I’m making progress.

“Now I just want to keep my head down and keep working, first of all, here with Plymouth, but also whenever I do go away with England, making sure I’m making the most of it. It’s a brilliant platform for me to show what I can do.”

That monumental step up to the senior team is on his radar.

“That’s the goal. I think it’s possible because you saw in the last couple of camps with players coming in – players that Lee Carsley has worked with at U21s as well – getting their chance to play. It just shows for the players in the lower-age groups that it’s possible.

“I feel like we’ve got a generation of players in England where there’s a lot of good players coming up. If I can be someone that’s in there, I’d be more than happy with that.”

That must stay as a dream for now.

He and his Plymouth team-mates have a huge short-term challenge – to keep the club in the Championship.

When Rooney was sacked on New Year’s Eve, the Pilgrims were rock-bottom of the table, four points from safety and without a win in nine.

Now, former Cercle Brugge boss Miron Muslic – who went viral for his rousing welcome speech – is in charge. He is yet to win any of his first four league games and the gap to safety has grown to seven points in the meantime, but taking points from both Oxford and Sunderland is no mean feat.

Still, Gyabi is not getting complacent.

“He’s got a clear way he wants us to play in and out of possession and it’s for us to adjust to that and make sure we are fighting for him. He’s very, very clear with how he speaks and how he directs us and what he wants us to do. With more time, it’s going to be even clearer.

“But we know we need to start winning games and we need to play even better than we have been, for sure.

“It’s 17 games, but we can’t just keep saying there’s 17 games left and we’ve got time. We have to start picking up the results we want and moving in the right direction.

What is important is that we stick together on the inside and outside of the club because unity can only help us in this situation. It can’t just be one person wanting to do it all by themselves because that would not be possible.

“If we’re all together, if we’re all fighting and if we all have the same goal and desire, then 100 per cent I believe we can definitely make something happen.”