If he leaves Leeds United for Tottenham, he must resolve two issues: View

Willy Gnonto’s potential transfer from Leeds United to Tottenham Hotspur is being evaluated by FLW.

•  Willy Gnonto’s lack of regular game time at Leeds has impacted his consistency and sharpness on the field.
•  Despite his potential and technical ability, consistency has never been a strong point in Gnonto’s game.
•  Gnonto’s preferred position on the left flank may not align with Ange Postecoglu’s style at Tottenham, making the transfer less logical for the club.

Several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, are said to be interested in Leeds United winger Willy Gnonto, both in his home country of Italy and in England.

A saga involving the 20-year-old Italian attacker occurred at the end of the summer, after he reportedly asked not to be included in the squad as he sought a move away, which also resulted in him training separately from the rest of the first-team.

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Everton were the most linked club, and the winger eventually handed in a transfer request in the hopes of forcing a move to Goodison Park. However, Phil Hay later revealed that Gnonto had positive talks with Daniel Farke and the club’s hierarchy and was now back in training with the senior squad, potentially bringing the transfer saga to a close.

According to Sky Sports, Leeds turned down a £25 million bid from the Toffees in the summer. They also claimed that Everton made four offers for Gnonto, the first of which was around £15 million but gradually increased to a figure closer to £25 million inclusive of add-ons.

According to TEAMtalk, Serie A clubs Roma and Lazio are interested in signing the Italian international. However, following Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich earlier that month, London World reported in August that Tottenham Hotspur were interested in Gnonto.

Those links to Spurs have persisted since, with the Daily Express reporting that a deal involving Gnonto moving to Spurs as part of a deal to bring Joe Rodon permanently to Elland Road could be struck.

The interest is high, and Gnonto’s recent lack of regular game time may force him to leave West Yorkshire, with his future likely to be discussed between now and January.

Is Gnonto a reliable enough player to play for Tottenham?

One of the issues Gnonto has had this season, is playing regularly for Leeds. His season has been somewhat stop-start, due to a combination of things.

Part of which was his own doing after he refused to play, then he succumbed to an ankle injury against Hull City and Dan James and Crysencio Summerville made those positions their own after hitting a good vein of form.

Gnonto has struggled to make an impact since, which is made more difficult when only coming off the bench. This season, he has played 12 times for Leeds, scoring once and assisting once. The winger has started seven times in those appearances.

Gnonto is terrifying at his best. He can be a devastating transition player as well as a dynamic one-on-one threat in settled play. His ceiling is extremely high, but consistency has never been one of his strong suits.

That could be due to his lack of regular game time, which would allow him to build a run of games and sharpness, but it could also be due to his age. Young players are notoriously volatile, and consistency improves with time.

Gnonto has all the raw tools to be a success at a top-flight club, even as a purple patch player. Few wingers in the Championship have the same technical ability as him.

His cameo against Rotherham showed glimpses of a player who is building confidence and sharpness once again.

Would Gnonto fit in at Spurs?

The other potential issue is that Gnonto may not be the archetypal Ange Postecoglu winger. Gnonto is a versatile forward, who can play as a left-winger, second-striker, and potentially on the right. However, he naturally prefers the left flank where the pitch opens up for him to invert.

Although Postecoglu has experimented with inverted wingers, he has generally preferred a player to play on their strong foot, with right-footers on the right and vice versa on the left. Gnonto has been deployed from the right for Leeds, but does not suit playing at those angles as much.

The Italian international may add depth as a utility forward to their attacking line, but if he doesn’t gain further consistency and develop as more of a touchline winger, then the transfer makes little sense for Spurs for what would likely be a significant sum.