Wilfried Gnonto opens up on 'difficult' summer transfer news amid honest Leeds United promotion verdict
A busy summer at Leeds United saw more than £120m worth of talent leave.
Wilfried Gnonto admits it’s been ‘difficult’ adapting to life without best pals Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter - but the vibrant Italian is not short of friends at Leeds United.
Leeds’ Italian star watched on throughout the summer as key players from last season got their Premier League move, with Summerville and Georginio joined by Archie Gray in moving on. Gnonto and Summerville were particularly close, with one almost always following the other in video clips of the squad posted online, while Daniel Farke jokingly complained of suffering headaches when they and Georginio were joking around in training.
Gnonto decided to stick around for a second Championship season and has since welcomed a number of other exciting young players through the door. And while the absence of summer exits has been felt at Thorp Arch, there are still plenty around to keep those headaches coming for Farke.
“I know I was closer maybe to Cry and Georgie but that’s normal as you can’t be as close with everyone as I was with them,” Gnonto told BBC West Yorkshire Sport. “It’s not that I need to make new friends as I have always been friends with everyone but yes, it’s a bit difficult now that they are gone. But at the same time, everyone is nice, we enjoy every day and it’s a good group.”
Promotion confidence
The departures of Summerville, Georginio and Gray saw arguably Leeds’ best three players from last season leave and so cause for concern among supporters was justified. But a decent transfer window, plus the return of Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober from loan spells, has them well-placed to fight for promotion once again.
Their 11-point tally from six games is not perfect, but it is an improvement on last season and Leeds remain among the favourites for a top-two spot come May. The recent announcement of plans to expand Elland Road is evidence of top-flight ambitions inside the club and Gnonto shares that feeling, having put pen to paper on a four-year contract earlier this month.
“I would say Leeds is a really big club, maybe not so much in the Championship but we are ambitious and we know we can go to the top,” he added. “With the new owners, this is the vision they have and it's the vision I have for myself as well. The fans put some pressure on the team but it's a nice thing because it helps us understand where we are, that we are important and we have a big role.
“I was confident [of promotion] last season as well but in football you can't take things for granted. What I'm sure of is that we'll do everything possible to get back to the Prem. We know we have a good team, we know we have to try everything we can and I'm sure at the end, if we have done everything we could, we’re going to be fine.”