Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City battle for Leeds wonderkid

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Mar 2023 10:44 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City are keen on poaching Wilfried Gnonto from relegation-threatened Leeds.

The Italian earned himself the wonderkid tag by becoming a senior international in June of 2022 despite not yet being a full regular for his club side Zurich, scoring against Germany to become Italy's youngest-ever goalscorer.

Leeds United subsequently brought the tricky winger to England for a trifling €4.5 million upfront, and he has only gone from strength to strength since.

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Though still not a regular starter, the 19-year-old has shown moments of brilliance at Elland Road and has contributed to Leeds' survival bid with two goals and three assists. His Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has risen accordingly, currently peaking at €24.3m.

His performances and certainly his overall potential have attracted the interest of several Premier League giants.

Arsenal, Chelsea or Man City?

If Leeds were to lose their relegation battle, Gnonto would, it is believed, almost definitely get picked off by a bigger club. But even if Javi Gracia manages to keep the Yorkshire side in the top division, Gnonto could be on his way out if Leeds' valuation of €30m-40m is matched.

Indeed, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Gnonto is on the radar of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, who are all understood to be looking to add depth to their flanks this summer.

While he has shown that he can perform in the Premier League, questions remain about whether he could do it consistently at the highest level considering that he is still not a guaranteed starter at Leeds. Gnonto would undoubtedly, however, be a deadly weapon to bring off the bench.

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Leeds are precariously hovering above the drop zone, just two points ahead of West Ham in 18th, but they are under no obligation to sell, and with a contract running until 2027, the Italian wonderkid would certainly command a hefty fee.