Wolves must take transfer action for Leeds star after Harry Wilson breakthrough | OneFootball

Wolverhampton Wanderers should look to sign Wilfried Gnonto from Leeds this summer after Harry Wilson's impending arrival

Wolverhampton Wanderers' return to the EFL Championship after over eight years is firmly on the horizon, as the Old Gold have stepped up business off the pitch to prepare themselves for the trials and tribulations of the second tier.

Wolves will be looking to make their time back in the second tier as short as possible following their relegation from the Premier League, as the Black Country outfit have already stamped their authority on the summer transfer window with the additions of Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez on free transfers.

These two additions, though they may have a combined age of 70, have vast experience at the pinnacle of the game, both at club and international level, and should be viewed as real coups for the club despite their age.

Rob Edwards has since been dismissed as head coach after it looked like the Welshman would be the person to guide them into the second tier, having been replaced by relatively unknown Portuguese head coach Cesar Peixoto.

The last time they did something similar to that, Nuno Espirito Santo would romp the Old Gold to the second-tier title, before achieving great success in the Premier League, and will be hoping for a similar result under the 46-year-old, who should be targeting a swoop for a Leeds United attacker following the Yorkshire club's recent business.

Wolves should look to sign Willy Gnonto from Leeds United

Heading into next season, especially with the addition of Jimenez, Wolves are well-stocked in attack, with the likes of Adam Armstrong, Mateus Mane, Hwang Hee-chan, Tolu Arokodare, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, and Rodrigo Gomes as options, but with a few of those likely to depart, namely Mane, Hwang, and Arokodare, other options will be a necessity.

At Gil Vicente, Peixoto preferred to deploy a 4-2-3-1 shape more often than not, and with a lack of wide options in the squad as it is, the Portuguese head coach will likely be aiming to address this.

With recent news coming out of Elland Road that Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Fulham attacker Harry Wilson, Wolves should take this opportunity to strike while the iron is hot in a deal for Italian forward Wilfried Gnonto.

Gnonto, 22, made just 23 Premier League appearances last season for Leeds, with only four of those coming as a start, and looks set to leave Elland Road after four years at the club.

The Italian made the move to WestYorkshire from Swiss side FC Zurich in the summer of 2022 for around £3.75 million, and has gone on to score 23 and assist 17 in 147 games for Leeds.

Having seen each of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha, and Noah Okafor overtake him in the pecking order following their summer arrivals, Gnonto will likely be displeased at his lack of minutes and will be keen to ensure he doesn’t waste crucial development time anymore sitting on the bench, especially after the impending arrival of Wilson.

German side Freiburg have previously registered an interest in the forward, but Wolves ought to leapfrog them in the queue for his services, in what would be a game-changing addition for the Midlands outfit.

Capable of playing anywhere across the front line, Gnonto can cover numerous positions for Peixoto’s side with great effect, and would surely be an automatic starter in every one of them if he were to make a move.

Whether he would be willing to take a step down back to the Championship at this stage of his career remains to be seen, but Wolves would be remiss not to test the waters, especially with an exit in any circumstance on the cards.

The diminutive winger still has two more years left on his deal, and won’t come especially cheap, as Leeds look to maximise their profit on the Italian, though Wolves shouldn’t struggle too much in reaching their demands.

Wolves have already made two statement additions in Jimenez and Trippier without spending a penny, and should be aiming to make a third in the form of Gnonto this summer following Wilson’s switch to Elland Road.

Cesar Peixoto must make a statement of intent after taking charge of Wolves

Action images

Peixoto has never managed outside of Portugal in his career before taking the top job at Wolves recently, and arrives as a relatively unknown quantity.

With both deals for Jimenez and Trippier wrapped up by the time of his arrival, Peixoto has yet to make any of his own additions since his switch to Molineux, and will surely be keen to change that sooner rather than later.

When Nuno was appointed back in 2017, both Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota would follow him to the Black Country and play crucial roles in their promotions, as Peixoto will be hoping for similar firepower and backing in the market to the current West Ham United boss.

Gnonto would provide an exciting option in attack for the Old Gold