Facundo Buonanotte and Wilfried Gnonto may have sealed Leeds futures vs Birmingham
Leeds United are in the hat for the fifth round of the FA Cup, but Birmingham made them work for it.
Leeds always expected a tough afternoon at St Andrew’s on Sunday, and that’s precisely what Championship side Birmingham gave Daniel Farke‘s team.
Blues came flying out of the blocks in the first half, with Leeds unable to match them in pretty much every department, and the home side probably should’ve gone into the half-time break a goal or two to the good.
However, a combination of wasteful finishing and some top saves from Lucas Perri kept the game goalless, but penalties would be required to separate the two sides after second half goals from Lukas Nmecha and Patrick Roberts.
Leeds would win the shootout 4-2 in the end, seeing the Whites through to the fifth round, but it was an afternoon that will no doubt have given Farke plenty of food for thought.
Facundo Buonanotte won’t be getting many more chances now
When the starting XI’s were announced on Sunday morning, many Leeds fans were delighted to see Facundo Buonanotte’s name in the team.
The attacking midfielder had only seen two short cameos from the substitutes bench in the Premier League since signing for Leeds in the winter window, arriving on loan from Brighton.
However, the 21-year-old is an Argentina international and has represented Brighton, Leicester and Chelsea in the Premier League, so he arrived in West Yorkshire with plenty of pedigree and excitement around him.
But, his display against Birmingham on Sunday probably won’t see Farke rushing to include him in his upcoming teamsheets though, as he was replaced at half-time for Ethan Ampadu.
As per Sofascore, in the 45 minutes he played at St Andrew’s, Buonanotte failed to register a single shot on goal, made zero key passes, completed none of his three dribble attempts and lost the ball 10 times.
Leeds have some huge games against Aston Villa, Man City and Sunderland coming up, and Buonanotte’s Birmingham showing will surely keep him out of the team for those clashes.
Wilfried Gnonto may have ran his Leeds race
However, given the fact he’s a new signing, you can probably give Buonanotte a little bit of leeway for his slow start to life at Leeds.
The same privilege can’t be extended to Wilfried Gnonto, however, as the Italian wideman is now in his fourth campaign as a Whites player, and it may well prove to be his last.
Gnonto, whilst he was playing in an unfamiliar right wing-back position, also was unable to impact the game at all, and was dragged off after 68 minutes.
He is contracted with Leeds until the summer of 2028, meaning if sold, he could still fetch a premium price for a player who has been moved firmly to the Elland Road fringes this season.
As per Sofascore, Gnonto made just one progressive carry during his near-70 minutes on the St Andrew’s pitch, and that simply isn’t good enough to warrant him regaining a larger role in Farke’s side.
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