Willy Gnonto has found regular football hard to come by at Leeds United this season.
Former Leeds United defender Matt Kilgallon admits he would be 'gutted' to see Willy Gnonto depart Elland Road during the summer transfer window.
Gnonto arrived at Leeds from Swiss side FC Zurich in 2022 and immediately impressed, displaying his skills as a livewire winger. But the 22-year-old has struggled to recapture the dazzling form of his first campaign with the Whites, subsequently only starting four games during the 2025/26 Premier League season.
This lack of action has led to transfer rumours aplenty, with Bundesliga outfit Freiburg linked with the player. For Kilgallon, speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post via Hello Tickets (buy tickets for Premier League matches), losing the Italian would be a big blow.
Former Leeds player would be 'gutted' by Gnonto exit
Kilgallon explained: "They need to build again. You don't want to be the team that stays up, and then you don't build on it, because of second-season syndrome. How many teams do you see go down once they stay up in the second season? You need to back him. For me, if he went, I would be absolutely gutted.
"I do like him. It's not like if it were someone and you went, oh my God, what are we letting him go for? I could see that he’d want to play more. He's probably not been involved in the Italy squad as much now because he's not playing."
Gnonto's 'strange' fall from grace
On Gnonto's fall from grace, Kilgallon added: "It's a strange one with Willy Gnonto, to be honest, because when he first signed for Leeds United, he was this player that we didn't know much about, young lad, but jumped on the scene early doors with Leeds United, got in the team, and everyone was going, ‘who is this? This looks like a right player here.’
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"He was taking everyone by surprise; he was taking people on, being a real threat. I think he played at Old Trafford, I think even Gary Neville called him out and went, ‘Who is this lad that Leeds United have got?’
"But since that season, he's been in and out really, injured a little bit, and then obviously the year when Leeds got promoted, they had Dan James and Crysencio Summerville who were on absolute fire on the wings, and he just didn't get in.
"It’s been the same this season, in and out, coming on for 20 minutes, 10 minutes here and there. I do like him. I can understand him being frustrated, but he's still a young lad. You look at Leeds United now for next season, they need a really strong squad."
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