Willy Gnonto has received some unfavorable news before of Leeds United’s match against Southampton in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
The 20-year-old Gnonto has made his way back into the starting lineup after spending the majority of the season on the sidelines and making waves with Leeds in recent weeks. In the previous fifteen Championship games, he scored seven goals.
The Italy player, who declined to play for Leeds back in August, is anticipated to start on Sunday as he attempts to restart his career. His current involvement with Italy’s senior squad is one aspect of that.
Gnonto was dropped from Italy’s squad after he was unable to establish himself in the Leeds starting lineup following the club’s relegation to the second division. Since then, Luciano Spalletti has taken over as manager, replacing Roberto Mancini.
However, Gnonto has received some unfavorable news a few days before Sunday’s play-off final for a berth in the Premier League. Italy’s Euro 2024 squad has been announced, with Spalletti vying for the title.
Unfavorable news for Gnonto arrives before Leeds and Gnonto play-off match.
It was never anticipated that the winger would be unexpectedly and belatedly called up to the Italy squad, but those suspicions have now been validated. The winger last won his 13 caps for Italy in September of last year.
In early June, Italy will play Turkey and Bosnia, followed by group matches against Croatia, Albania, and Spain. Gnonto’s name was not mentioned when Spalletti announced his tentative team on Italy’s X account on Thursday.
“Luciano Spalletti’s provisional 30-player Azzurri squad ahead of EURO2024” is the caption.
The Leeds winger needs to concentrate now as the play-off final approaches.
Leeds faltered following the March international break. Many attribute this to fatigue and possibly pressure getting to the team, although the Welsh players will have been hurt for a few weeks.
After the break, with Dan James out, Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu were unable to maintain their stellar defensive records. That is something Gnonto needs to learn from, move on, and concentrate.
His prospects of being selected for Italy’s Euro 2024 squad were always remote because he hasn’t played for the senior team since September. He have the ability to work the magic needed to triumph on Sunday.
In the Championship play-off final, Leeds and the Saints will square off for the final spot in the Premier League for the upcoming season at Wembley.
Having been demoted together a year ago, the team that loses this weekend will be condemned to play second-tier football for the second time in a row.
From Leeds’ point of view, a number of their players went on loan after losing out last summer, and 49ers Enterprises has stated that would not be permitted to occur once more. Rather, important players would need to be let go.
However, if Leeds were to advance, they would have to compete in a significantly more competitive market in order to assemble a team strong enough to compete in the Premier League.
If promoted, Leeds is prepared to pay £20 million for James McAtee.
In the event that Leeds defeat Southampton on Sunday, they have already been linked to many prospective targets, one of whom is soon-to-be free agent Marius Wolf.
amiable center back Jordan Torunarigha is another player Leeds is considering, and Kalvin Phillips may make a spectacular comeback.
And should they win, both Championship play-off finalists have their sights set on acquiring Manchester City sensation James McAtee, according to Give Me Sport.
According to the article, McAtee, who has played on loan at Sheffield United for the past two seasons, is reportedly open to offers of about £20 million from City.
With two more years remaining on McAtee’s contract at City, both teams are reportedly confident in their ability to win the race for the 21-year-old if they win promotion.
In his first full season of senior football (2022–2023), McAtee led Sheffield United to promotion via the Championship, scoring nine goals and dishing out three assists.
Despite being a member of one of the worst teams the division has ever seen, he had a harder time in the Premier League last season, only managing three goals and three assists.
McAtee was once likened to David Silva, a legend of City.
Over the past few years, City has established a reputation for turning out some of the best young players—Phil Foden arguably most notably among them.
That being said, what has impressed me the most is the staggering amount of money they have gained from academy sales. Cole Palmer, Shea Charles, and Carlos Borges are a few of the players who left City for large sums of money after getting little opportunity to play in the starting lineup.
And it seems that McAtee might be the next to do so, even though pundit Gary Neville once compared him to City great David Silva when he made his debut against Everton in November 2021.
Neville stated, when providing commentary for Sky Sports, “It’s not an academy, it’s a cloning system.” They are all the same, much like clones. It appears as though David Silva has abandoned them all.