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.
