Teenager Willy Gnonto endured a slow start at Leeds but now he is pushing for his first start

Willy Gnonto was 15 yards outside his own penalty area when the ball reached him in the 84th minute at Elland Road on Saturday.

Leeds skipper Liam Cooper headed off Lewis Cook’s free kick as Bournemouth pushed for a late winner at 3-3, and suddenly Gnonto was gone. On his home debut and 19th birthday, the young Italian didn’t hesitate for a moment.

Head down, Gnonto accelerated to halfway. Marcos Senesi tried to push him in the back but the 5ft 5in forward had the balance and low center of gravity to stay on his feet as he approached Bournemouth’s goal. He drove past Jack Stacey and saw a run-up from Crysencio Summerville into the penalty area.

Gnonto tapped the ball perfectly into Summerville’s path and the Dutchman did the rest, burying his shot past Mark Travers and sealing a sensational 4-3 comeback win for Jesse March’s side. In the ensuing bustle, Gnonto tripped over Summerville and could be seen driving to the turf.

There had been similar celebrations among the Leeds players at Anfield a week earlier when Summerville sacked another dramatic winner in the 89th minute, but only after Gnonto was confident to beat James Milner and Curtis Jones before crossing over from the left.

Two appearances from the bench, two vital contributions from Gnonto – either side of a elimination for Leeds’ Under-21s at Crewe in the middle of the week. No wonder Marsch is considering giving him a full-fledged debut at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Summerville may be making headlines, but fans have no doubts about the role of their new Italian favorite who “eats spaghetti, drinks Moretti” according to the chant.

Gnonto has exploded onto the scene after a rather slow start in West Yorkshire. He signed with FC Zurich late on the deadline, but only after Leeds exhausted all other options.

The Gnonto deal was in effect, but before January. The £3.8 million fee reflected the teenager entering the final year of his contract with the Swiss champions.

Marsch said Gnonto was not ready for the Premier League and kept his word. The player had to settle for the Under-21s during his first two months at Leeds, even though he was deemed good enough to play for the Italian side in all six Nations League group matches against England, Germany and Hungary.

In June, he became his country’s youngest ever goalscorer when he struck in the 78th minute of a 5-2 defeat to Germany in Mönchengladbach.

Gnonto made it through Inter Milan’s youth system – as well as the academy in Novara where Bruno Fernandes started in Italy – before moving to Zurich in 2020.

“Leaving Inter after eight years was certainly not easy, but it was the right choice,” he said. “Once I made my decision, I never had any second thoughts.” The son of Ivorian immigrants, his father Boris worked in textiles and his mother Chantal was a waitress. They experienced Elland Road before their son did.

“They said it was incredible and showed me the videos — I was buzzing,” he said. “When Marcelo Bielsa was here, I watched many Leeds games at home with my father. This is a great club with a great mentality and of course the way they play is incredible.”

Gnonto fits perfectly with Leeds’ energetic, attacking philosophy. Marsch is also impressed by his work ethic and eagerness to learn. After all, he is a young man who studied Latin and Greek at school and speaks English, French and German in addition to his native Italian.

“You can see how intelligent he is,” Marsch says. “Wherever you play him on the pitch, his cleverness, his clarity about what kind of things to try, how to play the ball.

“He is a very intelligent young man. He knows several languages, understands tactics and clearly has quality.

“We don’t really use him as a No. 9, we use him a bit more like a No. 10. His professionalism and work ethic and clarity for what this world is like is unbelievably good. He’s very mature for an 18-year-old.”

Before the Bournemouth game, Marsch used his pre-match press conference to talk about Gnonto’s friendship with Summerville, and how the Italian’s attitude “had a really positive effect” on his new team-mate.

Afterwards, the Leeds boss laughed at how the two youths’ reaction to his comments reflected their characters.

“Yeah, that’s typical,” Marsch said. “Here’s what happened: I saw Willy and Crysencio and I said, ‘Cry, did you see my press conference?’ And he says “no”. And I go, “Do you have that, Willy?” He says, “yes, I heard it. I agree. I understand.”

“I think they have a really strong friendship, and if we can build them and continue to use their youthful talent and enthusiasm and desire to improve and fearlessness, that could be a good recipe for success, even with young players.”

It’s a partnership that will only get stronger. With matches in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday at Wolves and on Saturday in the Premier League at Tottenham, Marsch must now decide whether to give Gnonto his first start before the World Cup break. Leeds fans have no doubt that he deserves it.