Wilfried Gnonto has labelled his goal away at Manchester United as his proudest Leeds United moment due to the ‘silence’ that followed from the home supporters.
The 19-year-old was speaking in an interview with Cronache Di Spogliatoio where he claimed he could never have dreamt of what he has achieved this season.
Prior to his arrival on deadline day last summer, former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch claimed Gnonto would not be ready to make an immediate impact in the Premier League.
That could not have been further from the truth, though, with the Italy international not having looked back since his impressive debut from the bench in the away win at Liverpool.
Gnonto reflects on ‘exciting’ Old Trafford opener
Gnonto stunned 75,000 Man United fans into ‘silence’ back in February as he opened the scoring inside a minute in the 2-2 draw.
Given Leeds’ previous two Premier League visits to Old Trafford, it was a moment that will live long in the memory not only for Gnonto, but the travelling faithful, too.
He revealed that scoring in a stadium like that is something he would have ‘never believed’ as a youngster and the hush of the crowd is something he will never forget.
“When I took over in Switzerland, I had an incredible goal average. When I entered I did better than when I started from the beginning.
“And this year too I scored and assisted after a short time on the pitch: assist as a substitute for Liverpool, volleyed goal against Cardiff after a minute and after 55 seconds I scored against United.
“This year I took great satisfaction. Like the goal at Old Trafford or the debut at Anfield: if they had told me as a child, I would never have believed it.
“Old Trafford is so big from the inside… it’s scary. Scoring after a minute and hearing that silence was exciting.”