Will Gnonto rise above Noah's arc?
- Published
At 21, Wilfried Gnonto is an experienced player - a senior Italy international with 122 appearances and 22 goals for Leeds United.
After signing from Zurich for £4m three years ago, Gnonto is on his second stint in the Premier League where the competition for his place is fierce after the arrival of Noah Okafor from AC Milan.
With a characteristic smile, Gnonto is taking the threat in his stride.
"Obviously when you play in the Premier League you are going to have competition," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "You have good players and you can't do anything to stop this.
"I'm quite focused on myself and am sure of my abilities. I'm just happy for him. I know he's a good player."
Gnonto is now a senior member of Daniel Farke's squad so, with 10 new team-mates, he is well placed to assess if Leeds are better equipped to survive in the top flight this time around.
"We're stronger. We've had a little time to work on our tactics and get to know each other a bit more. I feel like we can just get better from now," he added.
"Every position is better, to be fair. We've improved at the back and in midfield. You've just talked about Noah but we have Dom [Calvert-Lewin], Lukas [Nmecha] and so many players up front as well, plus Jack [Harrison] coming back."
As for reclaiming a place in the Italy squad for next year's World Cup, Gnonto is yet to speak to head coach Gennaro Gattuso. However, he knows he has to force himself into contention.
"Being in the squad would be incredible for me," he said.
"At the same time, it's just a consequence of what I do here, so I'm just focused on doing my best by helping the team and hopefully it's going to come too."
Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds
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