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'An absolute leader' - Leeds United found transfer unicorn that fought Bayern and wants to coach

-Credit: (Image: Silas Schueller/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
-Credit: (Image: Silas Schueller/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)


Reluctance to bring in footballers the rest of the sport has seen fit to ignore until October is normally a wise strategy. As Daniel Farke said in the week he lost Leeds United’s midfield generals to knee injuries, there is generally an off-putting reason why autumn’s free agents are unemployed when the Halloween decorations start going up.

Twenty-two days after Ilia Gruev limped off at Carrow Road, the Whites announced Josuha Guilavogui’s signature. Less than 24 hours after Gruev’s withdrawal, before he had seen the scan, Farke remained sceptical about the free agent market, but confirmation of the Bulgarian’s long lay-off swiftly softened that stance.

He said the recruitment department would assess their options out of professional duty to the club, but maintained there were no guarantees. Cheikhou Kouyate was the first name to be credibly linked, but Christoph Kramer and Francis Coquelin were never reported targets given any credence by the club.

LeedsLive understands reports of failed medicals for Kouyate were wide of the mark too, as was the assertion, partly planted by Farke, that multiple options had been working at Thorp Arch to earn a deal. Ultimately, when you see Guilavogui’s history and do some digging on his character, it’s a wonder it took so long for Leeds to get him signed.

Evidently, nobody has seen him play in public since the back end of last season in the Bundesliga with Mainz, but even then, he started six games all term and the last of those came on March 30. The seven-cap France international may look perfect on paper, but perhaps his playing level was a cause for concern.

Eighteen senior starts since August 2022 is hardly regular football for a midfielder who turned 34 last month. Injuries have played their part in those declining minutes too. Perhaps Farke did want to see a more rigorous assessment behind closed doors before he committed to bringing in what sounds like a model professional.

Off the field, Guilavogui seems to tick every box Farke had for this unemployed unicorn he was chasing. When the average age of his 11 most-used Leeds players, this term, is 24, this vastly experienced 34-year-old is perfect for the dressing room’s balance.

Appearance-wise, Guilavogui has made 218 in the Bundesliga, 118 in Ligue 1 and 32 across the Champions League and Europa League. He played meaningful roles in taking Saint-Etienne to seventh and fifth in France’s top flight, as well as second (to Bayern Munich in title race), eighth and seventh in Germany with Wolfsburg.

There are the aforementioned seven caps with France and proper dressing room time with modern greats like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Blaise Matuidi, Kevin De Bruyne and Ivan Perisic. He has spent a career playing with and against the best in Europe.

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The mental attributes will be there, even if his technical and physical traits have taken a hit in recent campaigns. Then, of course, there’s the 6ft 2in aerial prowess and a natural ability in central defence or holding midfield.

His experience of great European atmospheres should mean Elland Road will not faze Guilavogui, but if he needs anyone to lean on for advice, he counts Max Gradel and Mateusz Klich as former team-mates he can call. The jury will remain out until we have seen him play, but this does look every inch the character Farke wanted around the club.

A late arrival with the wrong attitude or oversized ego could have rocked the boat, the manager feared, but Guilavogui’s contemporaries have described him as the rock in their dressing rooms.

"Josh is the kind of player whose value cannot be measured by numbers alone," said Wolfsburg’s managing director, Marcel Schäfer, as the midfielder prepared to leave the club in 2023. "He has achieved great things over a long period of time, both on and off the pitch.

“With his commitment and his exemplary mentality, he is a shining example of the values of VfL Wolfsburg. We will miss him as a footballer, as a person and also as a cheerful character in the dressing room.”

After signing for Mainz last year, in similar circumstances as a free agent after the transfer window closed, coach Bo Svensson said: “[Josuha] is also an outstanding guy and an absolute leader.

“In addition to his sporting qualities, which he has demonstrated over many years in the Bundesliga, but also internationally, his commitment and his leader mentality make him a top addition to our team, especially in this difficult phase.”

David Guion, Guilavogui’s former boss at Bordeaux, Martin Schmidt and Niko Kovac, former Wolfsburg coaches, all recommended the veteran go into coaching after retirement too. That is exactly the kind of mentality and leadership Farke wanted for his younger players on the training ground and in matches from any new face.

"I think it will go in that direction at some point, but first I want to keep playing for as long as possible," he said.

In August, when Guilavogui spoke to the German publication Kicker, as he waited for a new club, he said he was keeping fit at his Toulon home, working with a fitness coach from American football.

“I'm not someone who just signs somewhere just to have a new club,” he said of his wait. “I'm emotional, I have to look with my heart and have a good feeling about the new club.”

American and Turkish enquiries were turned down in the summer. He conceded his advancing years and diminishing minutes were being held against by some clubs, but now he has the chance to prove any doubters wrong.