Leeds United attacker Willy Gnonto has told Sport Mediaset that Napoli star Giacomo Raspadori is the player he is taking “inspiration” from – having played alongside him with Italy for the last couple of years.
Raspadori joined Napoli in the summer of 2022 – initially on loan from Sassuolo. It comes after having a hand in 27 goals in 82 games at his old side. Last term, he scored six and created five in 33 games.
Napoli chose to sign him permanently for a fee of £26m in the most-recent window, after helping Napoli win the Serie A title. Gnonto, meanwhile, remains at leeds after a summer where he was keen to leave.
One of Gnonto’s main concerns about remaining at Leeds is likely to have been whether he would have kept his place in Italy’s squad. But he did that, alongside Raspadori during the September fixtures.
Gnonto was asked who inspires him, who his role model is. He says Raspadori is the one he currently takes inspiration from – as the young Italy teammate continues to shine with the Serie A champions.
“There are many players that I like. It’s difficult to say who inspires me, perhaps the one to I try to take inspiration from Raspadori. I really like him as a player. A good guy, I try to take inspiration from him.”
Leeds star Willy Gnonto says Giacomo Raspadori inspires him
Raspadori is a wonderful talent and if Gnonto can produce the kind of form Raspadori has been showing with Napoli – then surely, Leeds will gain promotion this season. Gnonto has the key to unlock that.
Hopefully, Gnonto can start to add the numbers to his performances. He clearly affects games, pinning defenders back. But he only has one goal so far, no assists. Few more numbers and we can get excited.
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