Wilfried Gnonto was taken off after 65 minutes at Preston North End after another ineffective performance as Leeds United only managed a draw at Deepdale on Saturday. The winger huffed and puffed but created little and it has been his story in recent weeks as his performances have dipped despite the team sitting second in the Championship table. Leeds will need the winger to step up as they approach a busy period of the season.
Gnonto is seen as one of the players in the Leeds squad who would not look out of place in a Premier League table and Everton were interested in getting their hands on him last summer.
He pushed for a move away from Leeds last year but the club held on to him and Daniel Farke reintegrated him into the squad last season despite refusing to play to force through a transfer.
The winger has been much more disciplined and has said little to suggest nothing untoward to push for a move despite suggestions that he was growing impatient about getting back to the top flight to boost his international career with Italy.
However, this season, Gnonto has struggled for consistency on the pitch and has not been putting up the kind of numbers that would have been expected from a player who is seen as a marquee man in the Leeds squad.
Leeds would want the winger to justify his reputation and need him to step up in the latter half of the season to push the club towards promotion to the Premier League.
Wilfried Gnonto’s attacking numbers this season are not up to the standard yet
Gnonto has started 19 out of Leeds’ 21 Championship games so it is safe to say he is one of the first names on Farke’s team sheets every week. But his attacking numbers do not warrant that certain place in the team.
In a team such as Leeds who are known for playing dominant attacking football, one of their primary wingers should be creating more chances and scoring more goals.
Gnonto has four goals in 21 Championship appearances and only two in the last 14 league games. He only had one attempt in his 65-minute performance at Preston on Saturday.
He recently scored when he netted in Leeds’ 3-1 win over Middlesbrough and had three attempts so it is clear he needs to get more shots away to get on the scoresheet.
Leeds need to find a way to get the winger into more goalscoring opportunities but the Italian star is not even creating a bulk of chances of others.
He has registered just one assist in his last 12 league appearances, which looks even poorer given Leeds would have needed their attackers to step up in recent away games.
Gnonto is getting 2.5 shots per game and is completing less than half of his attempted dribbles this season. Leeds need him to become more threatening, as the talent is there for everyone to see when he is in full flow.
Gnonto needs to learn from Crysencio Summerville’s last season at Leeds United
Gnonto is still only 21 and has to develop further before he can reach his peak. However, he has been at Leeds for a while and is now one of the senior voices in the dressing room.
The winger needs to step up and take up the mantle of being the main man in the attacking third and there is no better example he could see than what Summerville did at Leeds last season.
The Dutchman was still young but stepped up and became the most important player for Leeds in the attacking third. His goals and assists were not enough to get Leeds back to the top flight but he earned a move to the Premier League last summer.
If Gnonto has the ambition of playing in the Premier League next season, he needs to produce the kind of numbers in the Championship that can’t be ignored.
The frustrating thing for Leeds fans this season has been that everyone knows that Gnonto has the talent, but his performances are not matching up to it.
In full flow, there are very few defences in the Championship that can cope with the Italian winger and Leeds need Gnonto to find that level in the latter half of the season.
