Wilfried Gnonto to miss start of Leeds United pre-season after Italy national team call-ups
Wilfried Gnonto is set to miss the start of Leeds United’s pre-season this summer after being called up to Italy’s senior and Under-21 squads.
The young winger was the star of the show at Elland Road last season as the club got relegated to the Championship, and there is said to be big interest in his signature from abroad and in the Premier League.
But after being named in Roberto Mancini’s senior squad for Italy and then the Under-21 squad for the European Championships next month, the player will now miss the start of the club’s pre-season campaign according to journalist Joe Donnohue.
“Willy Gnonto’s 2022/23 campaign began on July 16 last year with FC Zurich and realistically might not finish until July 8 this year,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account (13 June).
“He’s been called up to Italy’s senior and U-21 squads – whose fixtures don’t clash – this month. It’s a lot of football.
“He’s said in a previous interview the last time he took a holiday was three years ago.
“Each summer taken up by club/international commitments or visiting home. At the risk of sounding like Bielsa, there’s too much football.
“Needless to say, Gnonto will miss Leeds United’s pre-season start date.”
Mental
There is very much a chance that Gnonto won’t be anywhere near the club by the time those dates come around, because teams are going to try to sign him.
Several top clubs have shown an interest and considering Leeds signed him for an absolute bargain last summer, they could be very tempted to sell for a massive profit if a big offer comes in.
Obviously though they would rather keep hold of him if they can as they would have a far better chance of getting back to the Premier League at the first attempt if he was in the squad.
But with the start of pre-season coming in early July and Gnonto being unavailable, whoever the new manager is will need to come in and make a decision later in the summer on how they want to use him.
Gnonto is going to be exhausted and deserving of a long rest, which means this saga could well drag into August which isn’t ideal.
In other Leeds news, one player’s exit has been delayed by a “few weeks” due to financial issues.