Twelve months later was the planned arrival time at Leeds United for Wilfried Gnonto in some versions of the recruitment plan Jesse Marsch saw this summer. On what proved to be a chaotic final day of the transfer window last week, the Whites shifted their plans around and added the 18-year-old as Daniel James departed.
On a day which began with Victor Orta pursuing Cody Gakpo in Eindhoven, set up a flight for Bamba Dieng from France and ended with a series of reported late false dawns, Leeds were left making plans for an Italy international. Gnonto had been mentioned in dispatches across the summer from various European sources, so news of his signature was not out of the blue, but Marsch had been on the record with his reservations about the teen’s immediate impact.
Saturday proved the second time Marsch has admitted Gnonto was a forward Leeds see as a prospect for the future rather than making a 22/23 mark. Indeed, Orta and United’s top brass were weighing up a January or summer 2023 swoop.
