Leeds United reject Ligue 2 bid of up to £4m for teenage prospect as transfer stance is clarified

Ligue 2 outfit Valenciennes, currently 16th in the 20-side division, put together a proposal for the central midfielder but the Whites have turned it down. The French club are majority owned by Sport Republic, the ownership group of their Championship promotion rivals Southampton.

The YEP understands Leeds are, however, open to the idea of loaning Gyabi out for the season.

The England youth international arrived at Elland Road from Manchester City last summer in a £5m deal and made himself at home in the Under 21s, scoring twice and assisting three goals from a deep-lying midfield role. A first team breakthrough came in the form of a single Premier League appearance when he came off the bench with seven minutes remaining against Manchester City in a 3-1 defeat. Gyabi also featured once in both the FA Cup and EFL Cup and made three EFL Trophy appearances.

This season Daniel Farke has had Gyabi among his midfield options on the bench but used him for just a single minute of Championship action. The Carabao Cup tie at Salford City appeared as if it would present another chance for the 19-year-old but Farke stuck with his current first-choice midfield pair of Archie Gray and Ethan Ampadu. That suggested the writing was on the wall for Gyabi, particularly with Leeds closing in on the double midfield signings of Ilia Gruev from Werder Bremen and Rangers’ Glen Kamara.

Gyabi could join others, like Sam Greenwood and Leo Hjelde in making loan exits prior to the close of the summer window on Friday night.