Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto in action for Fiorentina
Wilfried GnontoImago

Why Willy Gnonto was involved in controversy away from Leeds United on Sunday

Mark Smith

Assistant Editor AUTHORITY Senior editor responsible for daily news flow, sub-hub management, and maintaining editorial standards across the site network. FOCUS Editorial oversight, newsroom workflow, and verified reporting. THE BRIEF Former Leeds United correspondent Mark has risen through the ranks at Breaking Media Limited to manage the network’s daily output. He works between the reporters and the experts to ensure the data and the news are applied correctly to every story.

Published on: 

Wilfried Gnonto hasn't had the best of starts to life away from Leeds United.

After a frustrating year with limited Premier League football last season, the Italian sealed a loan exit on deadline day.

Joining Fiorentina with an obligation to buy involved, Gnonto will be looking to make a real impact in his homeland.

That hasn't exactly gone as expected, though.

As Leeds were travelling to Sunderland on Sunday, Gnonto was at the legendary San Siro to take on Inter Milan.

Starting on the bench, how was he embroiled in controversy?

What has been said about Willy Gnonto?

Coming on for only 15 minutes, he didn't have the desired impact.

Despite Inter being top and Fiorentina in the bottom three, La Viola were actually 1-0 ahead when Gnonto came on.

Conceding twice in added time, they somehow managed to crash to a 2-1 defeat at San Siro.

Paolo Vanoli has come under heavy fire for his use of the bench, with Labaro Viola calling it a "controversy".

Quizzed on the double substitution that included Gnonto, he said: "It's the coaching thing: sometimes you think of something and it doesn't work out.

"In my opinion I brought in Dodo and Willy because, at a certain point, I thought that by having Mkhitaryan run behind them, they would be in trouble."

In the end, it was Vanoli and Fiorentina who were left in trouble.

Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto in action for Fiorentina
Why Wilfried Gnonto has been told to forget everything from Leeds United

Was Willy Gnonto to blame?

Looking at the numbers, not really.

In his 15 minutes of action, Gnonto made two defensive actions by winning a tackle and completing a clearance as pressure grew.

Losing five of his six duels though, he could have helped shift the momentum more with his defensive actions.

His one shot did draw a save, but Fiorentina were left to rue a massive missed opportunity against the Italian giants.

Daniel Farke only tended to use Gnonto at Leeds when they were chasing a result, not when already ahead.

Throwing wingers onto the pitch and hoping it stuck, his limited highlights last season included his crossed assist away at Brentford for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score.

With an £18million package attached to this loan, Leeds will be praying for Fiorentina and Gnonto to improve, and quickly.

If they get relegated, there's no chance that's taken up.

MOT Leeds News | Breaking News, Match Reactions, Transfers & Fan Voice
motleedsnews.com