Italy’s number nine (six caps) was not starting for Leeds United, the team’s wait for a win was stretching out week by week and questions were being asked. Wilfried Gnonto, the 18-year-old sitting behind the emergency glass on deadline day, was conspicuous by his absence from the pitch.
Jesse Marsch was repeatedly asked what Gnonto’s situation was, how he would be used and, at the least at the outset, whether he really was as far from Premier League readiness as he originally set out before the transfer. The head coach would swallow that particular prediction, but the teenager continued to figure more with the under-21s than the first team.
At last, his debut arrived on Saturday night in Liverpool. The waiting for player and fanbase was over and in the space of 19 minutes, Gnonto reassured everyone Marsch had another bona fide option he could now call on from the bench.
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There were none of the nerves, mistakes or second-guessing you might ordinarily see from an 18-year-old debutant in the Premier League. Then again, this is no ordinary 18-year-old. This is a forward who chose to leave the safety and security of a European giant for the first-team opportunities of the less fashionable Swiss top flight.
Gnonto has had more senior exposure than many peers his age and that must have fed into the speed of his transition to Anfield on Saturday night. The stocky attacker’s touch, passing, movement and execution sustained United’s foothold in the game, even playing a big part in the winner.
It was supposed to be a baptism of fire for Gnonto on Merseyside, but he took it in his stride and has quickly shown the wider world Marsch has another card he can trust in his attack. The clamour for Gnonto to get more and more game time is not going anywhere from this point.
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