As previously covered on Monday, Leeds United starlet Wilfried Gnonto has spoken to the Italian media about his love for Inter Milan and his decision to leave the Serie A side.
The forward wonders whether he’ll return to the Nerazzurri one day, but doesn’t regret walking away from the club, as that opened many doors in his career.
It turns out that in another part of the interview Gnonto had with Chronache Di Spogliatoio, the 19-year-old explains how happy he is at Leeds United, with a lot of good things to say about English football.
“In the Premier League it’s not easy to dribble: everyone studies everyone so they know what you prefer to do and how you most commonly behave. You always have to train and think about doing something unexpected, it’s exciting because it stimulates you to try and do new things.
“The defender who put me in the most difficulty was Ashley Young because he was annoying: he kept talking, making himself heard and getting inside my head. I stayed focused on the match and personally it went well, I even made an assist. I’ve always been convinced over choosing Leeds, the Premier League is the best.”
Gnonto even mentioned a few players who he sets as examples for himself, as he’s still figuring out a way to work his style in English football.
“Many players have hit me for dribbling. I like to look at, for example, Gabriel Jesus and Sterling because they have similar physiques to me. In dribbling and perfect crossing, I’d like Haaland to be ready to pick him up in the centre of the box: even if I cross badly, I know he’ll throw it inside.
“Here I’ve found an environment that lets me make mistakes, there’s a lot more street football. All the skills I see on YouTube, I see them more commonly here. And that’s what makes me love football. From this point of view, I’d have liked to have grown up in England: I’d have had more agility and skills.”
Gnonto joined Leeds last summer in a €4.5m move from FC Zurich. So far, he has four goals and four assists in 26 appearances for the Whites, and proved to have enough potential to fight for a starting place in the team. His contract with the club runs until 2027.
