Wilfried Gnonto is perfectly within his rights to consider his options this summer. The Leeds United forward was one of the Whites’ brightest and most promising performers in the Premier League last season and interest in his services was always inevitable following the club’s relegation.
The likes of Everton, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Arsenal have been linked with the 19-year-old services so far and an approach from any one of those clubs would be hard to resist for Gnonto, who will obviously see himself as a Premier League player. Leeds will know how much of a challenge keeping hold of him will be this summer, too, alongside a host of others.
But, relegation doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of the road when it comes to Gnonto’s career at Elland Road. In fact, there’s argument to say that, at his tender age, it could well be the making of it.
Talks will be held between the player, his agent and the club in the coming weeks, following the conclusion of the U21 European Championships and if his agents words suggest anything, it’s that Leeds have a job on their hands persuading him to stay. They will be readying their sales pitch to him, though, and they’ll hope to convince the forward that Leeds and the second tier might just be the ideal place for him as he continues developing and making a name for himself.
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As he showed last season, he is more than good enough to compete in the Premier League. He dropped out of form over the final two or three months under Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, but his electric performances before then more than captured the imagination of Whites supporters.
Goals against West Ham United and Manchester United made headlines both in England and in his native Italy as he announced himself on the largest domestic stage. Building on that progress will be his aim this season and the Premier League seems the obvious place to do it.
But, he could certainly achieve the same goal in the Championship where he would be almost guaranteed to start every week while playing a leading role in the Whites’ bid for promotion. It’s not quite as eye-catching as the English top flight but he needn’t worry about his spot in the Italy squad with Euro 2024 on the horizon.
Italy have to qualify for the competition first of course, and after they missed out on the World Cup, that’s not a given. But, Roberto Mancini was calling Gnonto up while representing Zurich in the Swiss Super League, a competition which is ranked someway below the Championship in terms of standards.
He was also earning international recognition while finding himself stuck on the peripheries of Leeds’ squad under Jesse Marsch during the first couple of months of last season. It seems his spot in Mancini’s plans is secure for now, then, who clearly sees the bigger picture when it comes to his potential, and taking strides week in, week out in the Championship would surely be enough to keep earning call-ups.
Such opportunities might not be quite as forthcoming in the Premier League, depending on which club he potentially joins. There’s no need to rush at such a tender age and while a move would reward him financially, there are clear benefits to staying at Leeds and spearheading a promotion charge under the club’s new ownership.
That club will surely look to hammer home that point when they sit down with the player and his representatives, they’ll also be pointing to the list of players who have used the Championship to their advantage before going on to bigger and better things.
Harry Kane is one of the more obvious examples of players who used the second tier to their advantage during a loan spell from Tottenham. Mason Mount joined Derby County on loan at 19 and hasn’t looked back since, Reece James the same, albeit at Wigan Athletic, to name just three of several current England internationals who have gone down the same path.
Perhaps one of the men he can take most inspiration from is Jack Grealish, though. Grealish caught the eye in the Premier League with Aston Villa in a similar fashion before relegation saw him drop down to the Championship in 2016.
He honed his game in the second tier and eventually led the club back to the Premier League, where his performance paved the way for his £100m switch to Manchester City, where he’s just won the treble. Of course, Grealish wasn’t an international footballer when he dropped down to the Championship but he was older and it helped him mature enough to become the player he is today.
Leeds must point to the long game when they sit down with Gnonto and while the Premier League is where every player wants to be, they can offer him opportunities over clubs can’t in their push to regain their own seat at the top table.
