Former Premier League manager Alex McLeish has hailed Leeds United’s late swoop for young forward Wilfried Gnonto, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Summer business

The Whites spent and received close to £100m this summer in what was a busy few months for Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta.

Leeds brought in six players over the age of 20, while also signing teenagers Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins and Gnonto. The Italy international was the final addition of the summer late on deadline day after the Yorkshire club failed with moves for Cody Gakpo and Bamba Dieng earlier in the day.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider about Leeds’ late move for Gnonto. He hailed the club for spending big this summer and said that a late striker signing was ‘brilliant’.

The former Aston Villa manager stated:

“Leeds have had this issue for a while now.

“I think a striker was always going to arrive, it was just a matter of who. Bamford is an injury concern but Rodrigo has been scoring the goals now he has been moved higher up the pitch.

“Gelhardt is a talent but maybe not ready to carry the burden of leading the line. Leeds have done remarkably well this summer.

“They have gone out and spent which is something they didn’t do last season. A striker signing was needed so it’s brilliant they got that done.”

The Verdict: Still short?

Leeds were on course for a solid transfer window at the end of July with the majority of their business already done, but you could say that they left it too late to bring in a new senior forward and had to accelerate their interest in Gnonto as a result.

A new left-back could also have been of use due to a lack of options and Junior Firpo’s injury problems, so it will be interesting to see how the next few months play out before the Whites can strengthen their squad again in January.