Willy Gnonto names the Leeds United teammate who has been key to restoring his confidence

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Willy Gnonto certainly hasn’t had it all his own way at Leeds United since the events of last summer.

After Leeds‘ opening day draw with Cardiff City, a game in which he started, Gnonto would go onto miss the next three matches due to the way in which he was looking to force through an exit, while also being made to train alone.

Gnonto had been keen on an immediate return to the Premier League with Everton but it quickly became clear Leeds had no intention of selling, so he apologised and returned to the fold.

The 20-year-old has recently opened up on the events of August ahead of Sunday’s play-off final with Southampton, where he could cap a crazy individual season with promotion.

Due to the form of Crysencio Summerville and Dan James, Gnonto started just two league matches between mid-October and the end of January, which saw him lose a lot of his confidence.

However, since coming into the team in early February as a result of James’ injury, Gnonto has not looked back, with seven goals in Leeds’ last 15 matches of the regular season.

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Gnonto praises Crysencio Summerville for how he’s helped him this season

Gnonto had been one of Leeds’ shining lights in an otherwise dismal Premier League season last year, winning plaudits from a number of pundits including Michael Owen.

His performances last season were enough to justify people thinking that he would rip up the Championship, but clearly his summer antics and lack of starts had a big impact on his form.

Summerville was instead the man who stepped up for Leeds, scoring 19 goals and providing nine assists, helping him win the Championship’s POTS.

It is well known just how close Summerville and Gnonto are off the field, and in an interview with Leeds Live, the latter has explained how his Dutch teammate has helped him so much this season.

He said: “I feel like [in] having the chance to live with him and seeing him day by day is just a good thing for me because he’s always positive, always working hard, as is all the rest of the team.

“It’s good to have people like him that are always close to me and even when it wasn’t going really well, he was always close to me, so I’m grateful for him.”

• READ MORE: Ethan Ampadu shares what he’s quickly realised about Leeds United since joining last summer

Gnonto stats Aug-Jan vs Gnonto stats Feb-May (Championship)

Coming into that game at Bristol City in early February, Gnonto’s confidence was at rock bottom after a really disappointing display in the FA Cup against Plymouth Argyle.

However, after scoring the winning goal at Ashton Gate, it was clear in his celebration just what a weight off his shoulders that was.

Both Summerville and Georginio Rutter knew it, too, as they encouraged him to properly celebrate with the travelling supporters at full-time, knowing what a tough time he had been through.