Willy Gnoto may look to force Leeds United exit amid recent development
Leeds United attacker Willy Gnonto was an unused substitute for Italy as they ended up losing 2-1 to Spain in the Nations League on 14 June.
His lack of game time for Leeds has seen him fall in the pecking order for Roberto Mancini, especially with his eyes on Serie A and the number of attackers playing regularly.
Now, Gnonto will be featuring for the Under-21s in the European Championships in Romania after his recent call-up, which is not something he would’ve thought of at the start of the season.
The 19-year-old was a full Italy international before moving to Elland Road and has found his game time dwindling at Leeds.
With the Whites now getting relegated to the Championship, he knows that if he is to stay at Elland Road, the Under-21 EUROs is perhaps the make-or-break tournament for his place in the Italy side.
Mancini has overseen a disappointing recent campaign that failed to see them qualify for the World Cup as well so he will be picking players purely on form.
Unless the teenager has a blistering season in the Championship where he’s scoring or assisting every game, Mancini may not even consider him.
As he’s already fallen down the national team head coach’s pecking order, it could be the time for Gnonto to force a move away from Elland Road.
He surely will have felt let down by the hierarchy at the club and also managers who did not play him even though he played exceptionally well.
It’s going to be a tricky few weeks but if he decides to leave, there surely will be clubs in Italy willing to sign him.
In other Leeds United news, a BBC pundit has been left stunned as Phil Hay has dropped a fresh update on who the Whites are considering bringing in as manager this summer.