Julien Laurens says who he thinks is better – Willy Gnonto or new Leeds United star Noah Okafor

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Willy Gnonto will be looking over his shoulder after Leeds United confirmed the signing of Noah Okafor from AC Milan in a deal believed to be worth £18m, with Okafor signing a four-year contract.

Leeds confirmed the arrival of Okafor on Thursday afternoon. It is believed Leeds chose to sign Okafor after his performance against Leeds in Dublin, as well as his brace in a 4-2 Milan win against Liverpool.

With Manor Solomon returning to Tottenham and Leeds failing to sign Igor Paixao from Feyenoord, the Whites have now added a left-winger. Okafor has confirmed that his best position is playing on the left.

It takes their count of wingers to five, with Jack Harrison returning to the fold. Dan James and Willy Gnonto started against Everton, with Gnonto impressing on the left. Largie Ramazani was an unused sub.

• READ MORE: Noah Okafor shares what he noticed when he was watching Leeds beat Everton

Julien Laurens compares Noah Okafor with Leeds’ wingers

Okafor will only complete his first Leeds training session on Thursday afternoon having done his medical on Wednesday. It means he may only get two sessions in before Leeds go to Arsenal on Saturday.

The chances are, the 25-year-old is on the bench. But does he start for Leeds beyond that? Well-regarded reporter Julien Laurens questioned if Okafor is actually any better than Gnonto, or James on the right.

He told Sky Sports: “Okafor is a good player. He was very good in Austria but things didn’t work out in Milan or Napoli. He needs to relaunch his career, and he’s got the qualities to play in the Premier League.

“I thought Gnonto was quite good, certainly good enough in that Everton game. Dan James was good on the right. So I’m not quite sure if Okafor replaces one of them. But he will bring energy, goals and pace.”

Noah Okafor’s career in numbers compared to Gnonto and James

Okafor is now set to play football in his fourth country already, at the tender age of 25. He has shown he can adapt, certainly he did when Jesse Marsch signed him from boyhood club Basel, while at Salzburg.

But Gnonto and James are Premier League proven and it might take a few games for Okafor to get the hang of English football. Certainly, next week’s cup game against Sheffield Wednesday may see him start.

But against Arsenal, it is more than likely that Gnonto and James remain as Farke’s wingers. Arsenal are no team to start experimenting against. Okafor could be used off the bench by the German manager.