Leeds United are looking to sign Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zurich for £4m to £5m, journalist Ryan Taylor has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

Gnonto came through the youth ranks at Inter Milan before joining his current club on a free transfer in the summer of 2020. The 18-year-old has gone on to play 72 games for Zurich, scoring 12 goals and setting up nine more.

His form earned him a call-up to the senior Italy squad for the UEFA Nations League matches in June, when he won his first four caps for the Azzurri.

The latest

Taylor says that Leeds are determined to sign Gnonto, who he deemed a 'very highly rated' player in light of his 'very unusual' achievement of playing for the Italy national team despite never featuring in senior club football in the country, for around £5m.

The reporter told GiveMeSport in relation to the Whites: “The one that they’re looking at is that Italian wonderkid, Wilfried Gnonto from Zurich.

“I haven’t seen much of him, but from what I’ve read, he seems to be very highly rated because he’s already played for the Italian national team, which is very unusual for a teenager that is playing in Switzerland and is not even in Serie A.

“So, that looks like the one they’re trying to do for around about four or five million pounds. Whether he would be the answer to what they’re looking for, I don’t know.”

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The verdict

Earlier in the summer, Gnonto became the eighth-youngest debutant in the history of the Italian national team and the fourth-youngest this millennium (via 11 v 11). More impressively still, his goal in a 5-2 defeat against Germany made him the youngest competitive scorer in his country's history.

Therefore, he has clearly earned the label of 'wonderkid' that Taylor attributes to him.

Jesse Marsch may not feel that the teenager ready to be a Premier League starter just yet, but together with Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood, he could form part of the next generation at Elland Road.

That group may also include Darko Gyabi, the 18-year-old midfielder who moved to Yorkshire from Manchester City's under-23s for a similar fee of around £5m.

Gnonto is a player who seemingly wears his heart on his sleeve, shedding tears when he was substituted on and off in the same game last season, but perhaps Leeds fans will respond positively to his passion.