Chelsea can grab a bargain with forgotten Leeds star

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 26 Apr 2023 07:57 BST
• 2 min read

Chelsea can take advantage of Leeds United’s bizarre stance on Wilfried Gnonto to land themselves a summer transfer bargain.

The Elland Road club find themselves in a battle against relegation but against Leicester on Tuesday in a vital match, manager Javi Gracia entirely ignored the exciting Italy international winger.

Gracia has shown an unwillingness to trust the 19-year-old, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €25.9 million – up from €4.5m when he joined Leeds from Zurich last summer – making him among the most valuable players in the club’s squad.

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Gnonto has two goals and three assists in 19 Premier League appearances but has been decisive every 223.6 minutes on the field in a struggling team. This is superior to, say, Brenden Aaronson, who was brought on before him against Leicester. Moreover, there is a sense that he can make something happen, even if he remains a raw talent that needs refined. He is a match winner.

Gracia clearly does not see the Italian as a player to be trusted in a relegation battle, despite Leeds winning the two games he has started under the Spaniard. They have won only one of the 10 others.

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Gnonto a potential summer bargain

And this is where Chelsea can profit. Along with Manchester City and Leeds, the Stamford Bridge side were linked with a summer transfer for Gnonto by Gazzetta dello Sport last month.

Chelsea, of course, have their pick of wingers already in their squad, but a summer overhaul is likely, with FootballTransfers understanding that anyone in the squad could potentially be up for sale. That could be an opening for Gnonto to make a move.

He certainly fits the profile of a player Chelsea would chase at present. He is a young and promising player, but with the teenager already apparently having no future at Leeds under the current management, there would be no need to spend big money in the transfer market.

Gnonto is a player that Chelsea should be keeping close tabs on – and Leeds should be giving more minutes to.