Leeds United‘s play at the top end of the pitch has left a lot to be desired in the Premier League this season after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United on Sunday.
The Whites have now only scored nine goals in seven matches in the division, despite scoring four goals in one game against Newcastle United last month.
They have only scored five goals in the other six outings, which speaks to their lack of quality in the final third at the moment, and scoring more goals should be the priority for the German head coach right now.
The West Yorkshire outfit made some changes to their attack in the summer, letting go of Wilfried Gnonto, but they should not regret their decision to let him leave.
Why Leeds should not regret letting Wilfried Gnonto leave
Leeds decided to send the winger out on loan to Fiorentina on deadline day in the summer transfer window after he only scored one goal, against Derby County in the FA Cup, in 29 appearances in all competitions last season.
The Italian youngster had previously been an exciting attacking force for the club in the Championship, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in the 2024/25 campaign, but he was unable to make the leap to the Premier League.
Gnonto failed to score any goals and only assisted one goal for his teammates in 23 appearances in the top-flight last term, which led to Farke sanctioning a loan move to Fiorentina in the Serie A.
|
26/27 Serie A |
Wilfried Gnonto |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
5 |
|
xG |
0.15 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
xA |
0.29 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
0.4 |
The 22-year-old attacker’s form in Italy, unfortunately, shows that he is not faring any better in the Serie A than he did in the Premier League with Leeds, as he has yet to register a single goal contribution.
His struggles at Fiorentina this season suggest that he would not have made a difference at the top end of the pitch for the Whites in their current situation, which is why the club should not regret allowing him to leave.
Leeds have already found their next Wilfried Gnonto
Unfortunately, Leeds have another player in their current first-team squad who is already in danger of becoming Daniel Farke‘s next version of Gnonto this term.
The Whites got supporters and neutrals excited when they won the race to sign Harry Wilson on a free transfer in the summer, after he had been released by Fulham.
A return of ten goals and seven assists in the Premier League last season suggested that the Wales international was going to be a terrific addition to Farke’s squad at Elland Road.
However, it has not panned out that way, yet, and he already looks like he is surplus to requirements under the German head coach, who did not give him any minutes against Manchester United on Sunday.
The Welshman has been unable to carry his form for Fulham over to Leeds and is yet to prove that he can be an effective attacking outlet for the club in the top-flight.
Due to his struggles at the top end of the pitch this season, Wilson has not played more than 45 minutes of football in a league game since the opening day win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
|
Harry Wilson in this season’s Premier League |
|
|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Minutes |
|
Manchester United |
0 |
|
Arsenal |
19 |
|
Crystal Palace |
0 |
|
Newcastle United |
18 |
|
Brighton |
17 |
|
Brentford |
45 |
|
Nottingham Forest |
66 |
He was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United, as Lukas Nmecha was preferred to him as the attacking substitute, and it is hard to blame Farke for ignoring him.
Wilson has not done enough in his minutes on the pitch in the Premier League this season to justify bringing him on against top-class opposition, given that he is yet to deliver a single goal contribution.
His only attacking contribution in all competitions was an assist in the 6-3 defeat to Chelsea in the League Cup last month, as he assisted Tarik Muharemovic’s goal.
Meanwhile, Wilson’s last competitive goal was seven months ago for Fulham against Burnley in March. He has failed to score in 22 friendly and competitive games for Fulham, Wales, and Leeds combined since then.
The experienced winger has been out of sorts and out of form for far too long and is already looking like a flop at Elland Road, which is why he is in danger of following in Gnonto’s footsteps and being shipped away in the next transfer window due to his lack of impact.
