Wilfried Gnonto has been named among the top 100 young players in the world ready to make the step up and join a ‘top club’, with data revealing the eye-watering value of the young star.
It’s been a turbulent summer for the Italian, with the months following the Whites’ relegation in May dominated by question marks over whether Gnonto would join the mass exodus of first team stars to head for the exit door.
It appeared to come to a head when the 19-year-old refused to travel with the squad for the league game in Birmingham last month, though he returned to the side with a bang by scoring in the entertaining win over Ipswich Town a fortnight later.
Gnonto’s quality on the pitch has never been questioned by Leeds fans, so it will come as no surprise to learn that data collated by the CIES Football Observatory has earmarked the winger as a future top division star.
TheSwitzerland-based research group used statistics to curate a list of the top 100 players born in 2002 or later who do not currently play in one of Europe’s top five divisions, ranking them by their readiness to step up and play for a top club.
It’s been a turbulent summer for the Italian, with the months following the Whites’ relegation i
Rankings are based upon a player’s level of experience over the past year, factoring in both playing time and the sporting level of matches played, and resulting in an experience score out of 100.
Top of the list is Benfica defender Antonio Silva, with a score of 75.9 and an estimated value of £102.5m. Gnonto, for context, scored 46.9 with a value of £41.9m.
