FLW’s verdict on Tottenham’s potential pursuit of Wilfried Gnonto
Tottenham’s interest in signing Wilfried Gnonto from Leeds United shows they are actively seeking a new addition to their forward line.
Gnonto’s versatility and young age make him an appealing prospect for Tottenham, despite his potential high price tag.
The potential signing of Gnonto would provide tactical flexibility for Tottenham and help cushion the blow of losing Harry Kane.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Tottenham have entered the race to sign Wilfried Gnonto from Leeds United this summer.
According to London World, Spurs are in the market for another addition to their forward line before the window closes on 1 September.
Everton have been most closely linked with a move for the Leeds winger, but now the London club has emerged as another possible destination.
Gnonto made himself unavailable for selection last weekend as he looks to force through a move away from Elland Road.
Daniel Farke’s side suffered a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City in his absence, which has continued the team’s poor start to the campaign.
Would Wilfried Gnonto be a good signing for Tottenham?
Leeds have reportedly set an asking price worth £25 million for the 19-year-old, who impressed during his debut season for the Yorkshire club last year.
He contributed two goals and four assists to the team’s Premier League campaign, but that was not enough to prevent Leeds from suffering relegation to the Championship.
Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on whether he would be a good addition to Ange Postecoglou’s side…
Declan Harte
Tottenham have lost Harry Kane and now look quite light in terms of attacking options.
Hueng-Min Son has the left flank locked down, with Richarlison taking on the mantle of main striker against Brentford at the weekend.
However, if Postecoglou were to sign Gnonto then it could be worth trying Son in a more central role and allowing the Italian to occupy the left wing.
This could be quite an exciting front line, with Dejan Kulusevski on the right side.
Richarlison has not proven himself a consistent goalscorer during his time in London, so moving Son into the striker position may prove a better use of the new club captain.
This could get Son more involved than he was against Brentford, while still having an exciting threat for the left flank.
Gnonto has proven himself at a Premier League level and could be a really smart signing for Spurs.
This would also give the team some tactical flexibility and allow for some rotation.
Given there are a dearth of great new strikers on the market, this could be a clever workaround to replacing Kane.
Alfie Burns
He’s not going to be a Harry Kane replacement, but that’s not to say that Gnonto wouldn’t be a good addition for Spurs this summer.
The Italian forward clearly has a lot of potential and Leeds’ not for sale stance underlines how he is valued at Elland Road, despite the fact your gut-feeling is that Gnonto’s strike points towards an exit this summer.
Gnonto is versatile in that he can play centrally or on the left and will add depth to Tottenham’s attacking unit across a long season. Importantly, he’s also still very young at 19-years-old and has all the time in the world to develop into a top talent.
Despite his tender age, he’s going to demand quite a punchy fee from Leeds of over £20m. He’s probably more of a project player for a club like Tottenham, but they should still see good value in the quoted fee as they bid to cushion the blow of losing the England captain.
News of their interest will also be a boost to Leeds, who will hope that a bidding war between Everton and Spurs drives the price up for a player that it’s looking harder and harder to retain.
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