Leeds United director of football Victor Orta has told the Telegraph that youngster Wilfried Gnonto will ‘surprise’ people due to his ‘overwhelming’ mentality.
The Whites were on the lookout for attacking reinforcements this summer and eventually signed Gnonto from FC Zurich on deadline day.
Leeds were linked to other targets such as PSV’s Cody Gakpo and Marseille forward Bamba Dieng.
But Orta eventually signed the talented Italian forward and believes he will become a huge success.
Orta says Gnonto will ‘surprise’ people
He said: “We also tried with Cody Gakpo. I respect his decision not to come to Leeds. And I also put myself in the shoes of PSV and I understand they couldn’t find a replacement at the last minute.
“We couldn’t reach an agreement for Bamba Dieng either. In the end we decided on Wilfried Gnonto, who I think is going to surprise.
“He can play inside, outside, he has already made his debut for the Italian national team and has a mentality that is overwhelming. We have to be very calm, but I think the team will not be short of goals.”
The 18-year-old is yet to make an appearance under Jesse Marsch but has already played for Italy.
The talented youngster can play across the front-three and clearly has a big future ahead of him.
Jesse Marsch is known for his ability to develop young players and has built an exciting squad at Leeds.
Orta clearly believes Gnonto has bags of potential and the Italian international could soon be given a chance under Marsch.