‘He’s Not A Phenomenon’ – Ex-Boss Gives Clear View On Leeds United Out-on-loan Star | OneFootball

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Former manager Antonio Bongiorni feels that Leeds United loanee Willy Gnonto is not a phenomenal player, but stressed he has qualities which make him the talk of the town.

Fiorentina managed to strike a loan deal with Leeds for Gnonto in the summer window and La Viola have an €15m option to make his move permanent next summer.

Gnonto made his full debut for the Italian side on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia game where he scored in the 72nd minute to help Fiorentina progress to the next round.

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However, despite a good start to his career with La Viola, the Leeds winger’s performance attracted scrutiny and a journalist advised Gnonto to offer more to the team.

Although the forward admitted that he has not set himself a goals target, he revealed that he has bet with his team-mate Cher Ndour, which he is confident of winning.

Former manager Bongiorni is of the view that Gnonto is not a phenomenal player, but believes that his explosive nature makes him a desirable candidate for managers who want to play in a certain way.

The ex-Lucchese star pointed out that Gnonto provides his team with numerical superiority and stressed that due to his qualities he is on everybody’s lips.

“He is a player I would call ‘European”, Bongiorni said on Italian radio station Radio Firenze Viola.

“He is an explosive player who scores the odd goal and makes the difference in the closing stages of matches.

“Any manager who plays a certain way would want him. 

“He brings numerical superiority at the right time. 

“He had some excellent moments yesterday [Tuesday] and proved very useful when he dropped back into midfield. 

“He is not a phenomenon, but he is a very useful element. 

“Players with Gnonto’s characteristics are on everyone’s lips.”

Gnonto came through Inter Milan’s academy system and joined Leeds from FC Zurich on the deadline day of the 2022 summer transfer window.

The winger has featured 147 times for Leeds with 23 goals and 17 assists under his belt and he has two more years left on his contract.