Daniel Farke was delighted with his Leeds United’s first win of the season on Friday night at Sheffield Wednesday and discussed Wilfried Gnonto in his post-match press conference.
Leeds had failed to secure their first win of the season in the first three games with Championship draws coming against Portsmouth and West Brom and a 3-0 battering by Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup.
But the feel-good factor is slowly returning at Elland Road, largely thanks to the £10m addition of Largie Ramazani after Georginio Rutter’s exit. Then, on Friday night, Leeds beat Sheffield Wednesday away.
Goals either side of half-time from Brenden Aaronson and Dan James saw Farke’s men pick up their first three points of the season. Aaronson nabbed his second of the season, while Mateo Joseph created both.
Plenty of positives as Farke discusses improving Gnonto
Italy star Gnonto is quickly becoming more and more important to this Leeds side. The 20-year-old is still the subject of interest from other clubs from around Europe but as players depart, his importance grows.
With Crysencio Summerville and Rutter gone, Gnonto is now one of the first names on the team sheet even if Gnonto is yet to show a degree of consistency in a Leeds shirt, and Farke commented on Gnonto.
He told his press conference as per Leeds Live that Leeds are working hard to improve Gnonto behind the scenes, claiming the former Inter Milan star can be “unplayable” but also needs to play with intelligence.
“We have worked a lot with Willy, want him to be more flexible with his movements. We show him many things. At times he was unplayable. Can be a bit smarter but a really good performance, what we expect.”
What the latest is on Gnonto’s future ahead of August 30 deadline
A year on from Gnonto’s refusal to play for Leeds in August 2023 before being reintegrated into the side, the Italian is still being linked to leave. One story says Gnonto’s agents are pushing for an exit this month.
Gnonto seems happy at Elland Road right now but that could have changed after the losses of Rutter and Summerville. The sales of Rutter and Summerville though could be why Leeds are blocking Gnonto’s exit.
Time will tell as the window enters its final week but as things stand, Gnonto looks set to remain at Elland Road before the deadline. But as Leeds fans know, anything can happen in the final days of the window.
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