Leeds United employee Noel Whelan believes that summer signing Wilfried Gnonto could be ‘the bargain of the season’, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Late move

The Whites both 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 transfer deadline day after the Yorkshire club failed with moves for Cody Gakpo and Bamba Dieng earlier in the day.

The Latest: Whelan’s comments

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said that he has heard good things from Thorp Arch regarding the teenager and feels that he could be ‘good value’ at Elland Road.

The 47-year-old said of Gnonto:

“The fact that he’s a full Italy international just shows how highly he’s rated. Leeds United went in for him, he’s 18 years old – it seems like he could be a real bargain, perhaps even the bargain of the season.

“From what people are saying on the training ground, he’s very bright, lively, strong, quick. He could be good value for a few goals in the first-team this season.”

The Verdict: Fingers crossed

There shouldn’t be too much pressure placed on the 18-year-old’s shoulders this season, but it would be brilliant if he could hit the ground running in Yorkshire.

You’d expect that he’ll initially be behind Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo and Joe Gelhardt in Jesse Marsch’s pecking order, but he may still get the chance to impress from the bench over the coming months.

As Whelan mentions, Gnonto is already a full Italy international and arrives with plenty of first-team experience under his belt with FC Zurich, so he could prove to be a smart addition.