Willy Gnonto's honest verdict on Leeds United squad after £100m transfer spend and deadline-day failure
The Italian winger welcomed 10 new players to Leeds United across the summer.
Willy Gnonto believes Leeds United have strengthened in every position and will only improve as 10 new signings settle into their new surroundings.
Leeds spent over £100million and hit double figures for first-team arrivals across a busy summer, with Daniel Farke’s side significantly strengthened across defence and midfield. There is less certainty over forward arrivals, however, with only £18m of that total spend going on Noah Okafor while Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha were both free agents.
Okafor and returning Everton loanee Jack Harrison have effectively replaced Manor Solomon and Largie Ramazani in the squad, with the two free agent strikers in place of Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford. And while a late-summer marquee arrival never came, Gnonto is happy with the level of quality that’s come in across the pitch.
“I think it’s stronger,” he told BBC Sport of the current Leeds squad. “I think we got some good players, with a bit of time to work on our tactics and stuff and to get to know each other a bit more. I feel like we can just get better from now.
“I think every position is better, to be fair. You can just look at the back, look at the players we got. You have players who came in and started already, so I can say that at the back we improved.
“Midfield, we improved. We have some top players there as well. You talk about Noah, but we have Dom, we have Lukas, we have so many players up front as well. You know, Jack coming back. Everyone is ready to go and ready to help the team.”
Willy Gnonto on Leeds United competition for minutes
Gnonto is actually considered one of the main beneficiaries of that late-summer lull, with the 21-year-old naturally set to get more minutes amid less competition than expected. So far, he is one of seven outfield players to start all three Premier League games but that could change once Okafor is fit enough to start.
Of course, Gnonto’s versatility will stand him in good stead with Farke happy to use the winger on either side. Stints on the right in pre-season, and during last month’s Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, were also evidence of an already slick relationship with attacking right-back Jayden Bogle.
“Obviously when you play in the Premier League, you're going to have competition,” Gnonto added. “We have good players and we can’t do anything to stop this but I'm quite focused on myself, I'm sure of my ability and I'm happy for him [Okafor]. I know he’s a good player and he’s going to help us.”
It remains to be seen if Okafor will be ready for a start this weekend, with Leeds due at Fulham on Saturday afternoon. The £18m summer signing started against Sheffield Wednesday but complained of some groin issues after the defeat, albeit he was named on the substitute's bench for a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United in the final game before the international break.