First impressions at Thorp Arch have gone down swimmingly for new Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto. The 18-year-old has now completed his first week at the training ground with his new team-mates and the Italy international now has at least another seven days until he has a chance to debut.
Gnonto’s move was pushed through at the 11th hour of the summer transfer window last week and led to what became a whirlwind few hours for the teenager. A heart-warming video of his first meeting with Jesse Marsch was released by the club last week.
In it, the head coach put Gnonto at ease, took any immediate pressure off him and cleared him to return to Switzerland for the weekend before making any arrangements and returning to West Yorkshire. Marsch was also proactive in looking to meet the striker’s family, who were on-site too.
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Speaking to LUTV last week, Gnonto said: “He’s a very good person. From the first time I saw him he was always nice with me and also all the team-mates are very nice with me.
“They tried to help me and to talk with me. It is just the first day, but it will be even better [in] the next days.”
Earlier this week, Joe Gelhardt told BBC Radio Leeds about his first impressions of Gnonto in training: “He’s very sharp, very fast. He plays as a winger, anywhere across the front four really. He’s a lovely lad and I am sure he will do well.”
Gnonto would talk about his style and attributes too: “I'm very fast. I'm good with the ball. I like to go one-on-one and make something, make also a difference.”
Time will tell just whether Gnonto is deemed ready to make an impact in the top flight this season, but from what he has seen of Marsch’s philosophy, he feels he is well suited to it.
“Yeah, I feel I can give my best with this game,” he said. “It's a game with a lot of power, a lot of speed and this is good for me because I'm also this type of player and I hope I can help the team.”
While he would not wish to mislead supporters with talk of Leeds United fandom, Gnonto did admit he has watched plenty of the club over the years, notably under Marcelo Bielsa.
“I saw a lot of matches, to be honest,” he said. “Also, when Bielsa was here I was, I cannot say a fan, but I looked at home with my dad, always.
“This is a great club with a great mentality also and, of course, the way they play, it's incredible and I can fit well, in my opinion.”
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