Wilfried Gnonto
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Degnand Wilfried Gnonto | ||
Date of birth | 5 November 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Verbania, Italy | ||
Height | 1.72m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Leeds United | ||
Number | 29 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2010 | Baveno | ||
2010–2012 | Suno | ||
2012–2020 | Inter Milan | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2021 | Zürich II | 3 | (2) |
2020–2022 | Zürich | 65 | (9) |
2022– | Leeds United | 60 | (10) |
International career‡ | |||
2018–2019 | Italy U16 | 10 | (1) |
2019–2020 | Italy U17 | 10 | (5) |
2021 | Italy U18 | 1 | (0) |
2021–2022 | Italy U19 | 10 | (5) |
2023– | Italy U21 | 7 | (5) |
2022– | Italy | 13 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:41, 4 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 |
Degnand Wilfried Gnonto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɲonto]; born 5 November 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Leeds United and the Italy national team.
Early life[edit]
Gnonto was born in Verbania, Italy, in 2003 to Ivorian parents and he grew up in Baveno, where he attended a liceo classico before switching to pursue secondary education at a liceo scientifico.[1][2]
Club career[edit]
FC Zürich[edit]
A youth product of Inter Milan since the age of nine, Gnonto joined Swiss club Zürich on 23 April 2020.[3] Gnonto made his professional debut with Zürich as a substitute in a 4–1 away Swiss Super League win over FC Vaduz on 24 October 2020, and assisted his team's final goal.[4] He scored his first professional goal on 21 May 2021, once again in a 4–1 league home win over FC Vaduz, after replacing Antonio Marchesano in the second half.[5]
In his second season, he won the 2021–22 Swiss Super League title with the club, with four games remaining.[6]
Leeds United[edit]
On 2 September 2022, Gnonto joined Leeds United on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[7] He made his Premier League debut on 29 October, in Leeds’ 2–1 win against Liverpool at Anfield, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Jack Harrison and opening the action that led to the winning goal by Crysencio Summerville.[8] On 5 November, he again replaced Harrison in the second half of the league match against Bournemouth, eventually assisting Summerville for his second consecutive winning goal.[9]
On 4 January 2023, Gnonto scored his first Premier League goal for Leeds, a 28th minute opener in a 2–2 home draw against West Ham United.[10] Two weeks later he scored a brace for Leeds in an FA Cup third round replay against Cardiff City at Elland Road, a volley within the first minute and a goal scored in the 36th minute in a 5–2 win.[11]
On 8 February 2023, he scored less than a minute into Leeds' 2–2 draw with Manchester United, following a pass from Patrick Bamford.[12] In doing so, he became the youngest overseas player to score at Old Trafford in a Premier League fixture.[13]
In August 2023, Gnonto refused to play for Leeds in an attempt to force a transfer away from the club, following Leeds' relegation to the EFL Championship at the end of the 2022-23 season:[14] he then returned to training and officially apologized to manager Daniel Farke at the end of the month.[15] On 26 August, in his first game since his return, Gnonto scored a goal in a 4–3 away league win over Ipswich Town.[16]
In the 2023–24 season, Gnonto, an almost-constant regular on the right wing in Farke’s starting XI, had a run of form that saw him net seven goals from February to mid-March.[17][18]
International career[edit]
Gnonto represented Italy at under-17 level in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In May 2022, after being called by Roberto Mancini to join a training camp for the Italy national team, Gnonto was included in the final 30-player Azzurri squad for the 2022 Finalissima.[19][20] On 4 June 2022, Gnonto made his senior debut for Italy in a UEFA Nations League game against Germany, coming on as a substitute and providing an assist in a 1–1 home draw.[21] On 14 June, in Italy's fourth group match, he scored his first international goal in a 5–2 away loss to Germany, to become the youngest goalscorer for Italy, aged 18 years and 222 days, breaking the previous record held by Bruno Nicolè since 1958.[22]
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
- As of match played 4 May 2024[23]
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Zürich II | 2020–21 | Swiss Promotion League | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 2[c] | 1 | 5 | 3 | |||
Zürich | 2020–21 | Swiss Super League | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 33 | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 36 | 10 | ||||
2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 1 | — | 12 | 1 | |||
Total | 65 | 9 | 4 | 2 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 74 | 12 | ||||
Leeds United U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | 2[e] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
Leeds United | 2022–23 | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 4 | ||
2023–24 | Championship | 36 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 41 | 9 | ||
Total | 60 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 71 | 13 | |||
Career total | 128 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 150 | 28 |
- ^ Includes Swiss Cup, FA Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearances in Swiss Promotion League relegation play-offs
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
International[edit]
- As of match played 12 September 2023[24]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Italy | 2022 | 8 | 1 |
2023 | 5 | 0 | |
Total | 13 | 1 |
- Italy score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gnonto goal.[24]
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 June 2022 | Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany | 4 | Germany | 1–5 | 2–5 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A |
Honours[edit]
Zürich[23]
References[edit]
- ^ Russo, Gabriele (5 June 2022). "L'Italia si innamora di Gnonto. E' di Baveno la nuova promessa azzurra". RaiNews (in Italian). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ Tomaselli, Paolo (6 June 2022). "Il papà di Gnonto: "Libri e oratorio, non ha né fidanzata né patente: vi racconto Willy"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Der Stadtclub verpflichtet Nachwuchs-Stürmer Wilfried Gnonto". FC Zürich. Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ "Vaduz vs. Zürich - 24 October 2020 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Der FCZ gewinnt gegen den FC Vaduz mit 4:1" (in German). FC Zürich. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "FC Zurich beats FC Basel 2-0 and is crowned Swiss champion". FC Zürich. 1 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Leeds United complete deadline day deal for Wilfried Gnonto". Leeds United. 2 September 2022.
- ^ Rose, Gary (29 October 2022). "Liverpool 1–2 Leeds United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ Johnston, Neil (2022-11-05). "Leeds United 4–3 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
- ^ Stone, Simon (4 January 2023). "Leeds 2-2 West Ham: Hammers remain in relegation trouble after Elland Road draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Louise (18 January 2023). "Gnonto and Bamford double up as Leeds overwhelm Cardiff in FA Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "Sancho earns Man Utd point in thrilling Leeds draw". BBC Sport. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "'Superb' Leeds ace Gnonto broke a Premier League record vs Manchester United". HITC. 9 February 2023.
- ^ Hafez, Shamoon (18 August 2023). "Leeds forward Gnonto submits transfer request". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Farke gives apologetic Gnonto second chance at Leeds". BBC Sport. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Leeds end Ipswich's perfect start with first win". BBC Sport. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Freeman, Jay (17 March 2024). "Leeds 2-0 Millwall: Wilfried Gnonto and Dan James goals put Leeds top". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Lloyd, Matt (13 February 2024). "Swansea 0-4 Leeds: Visitors stroll to seventh successive win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Diramata dal Ct Mancini la lista dei calciatori per la 'Finalissima'" (in Italian). FIGC.it. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Wilfried Gnonto, chi è la nuova scommessa di Roberto Mancini" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Italia-Germania 1-1: Kimmich risponde a Pellegrini, esordio con assist per Gnonto" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Five-star Germany crush Italy to snap winless run". Reuters. 14 June 2022.
- ^ a b Wilfried Gnonto at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Gnonto, Wilfried" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
External links[edit]
- Wilfried Gnonto at Soccerbase
- Wilfried Gnonto at dbFCZ
- Wilfried Gnonto FIGC Italy U16 profile (in Italian)
- Wilfried Gnonto FIGC Italy U17 profile (in Italian)
- Wilfried Gnonto FIGC Italy U18 profile (in Italian)
- Wilfried Gnonto Archived 2020-10-27 at the Wayback Machine Swiss Football League profile
- 2003 births
- Living people
- Italian people of Ivorian descent
- People from Verbania
- Sportspeople from the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
- Footballers from Piedmont
- Italian men's footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Inter Milan players
- FC Zürich players
- Leeds United F.C. players
- Swiss Super League players
- Premier League players
- Italian expatriate men's footballers
- Italian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
- Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Italy men's youth international footballers
- Italy men's international footballers
- English Football League players