Leeds United have made a strong start to the 2024/25 Championship season. After a heartbreaking 2023/24, which ended in playoff final agony against Southampton, the Whites are now second in the table, and no doubt desperate to get promoted back to the Premier League.
So far, Daniel Farke’s side have played 11 games, and sit on 22 points. They have lost just once all season, against Burnley, and have won six times.
The most frustrating thing so far has been the number of draws they have picked up. Leeds’ four draws so far are more than any other side in the top six of the Championship.
Nevertheless, Farke’s side have impressed this season, and it seems like they are surely well on their way to promotion. There have been some standout individual performances from the Whites, too, with Wilfried Gnonto one of the players who has particularly caught the eye.
Gnonto’s stats in 2024/25 so far
After remaining at the club despite strong rumours of a departure over the summer, Italian international Gnonto has maintained his impressive performances in a Leeds shirt and has been pivotal to Farke once again.
He has started all 11 Championship games so far this term, scoring twice and grabbing four assists. The 20-year-old is already approaching his goals and assists tally from last season, in which he managed 12 goal involvements in 44 games.
Arguably his best performance of the 2024/25 campaign so far came against Coventry City. That day at Elland Road, Gnonto managed to get a goal and assist to see his side to an impressive 3-0 victory. Stuart Rayner, chief football writer for The Yorkshire Post, gave the Italian an 8/10 rating for an “excellent individual performance”.
Although it has been a superb start to the season for the youngster, Fakre might well consider resting him before long, in order to manage his game-time and not overplay him. If that were to be the case, the perfect replacement is already waiting in the wings.
The Leeds star who could replace Gnonto
The player in question here is Wales international attacker Daniel James. The 26-year-old has had fleeting minutes due to a hamstring injury for the Whites this season, which kept him out of action for six games.
With that being said, the former Manchester United winger has still played five times in the Championship. He has found the back of the net on one occasion so far, scoring against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough.
Leeds’ number seven has not started a game since returning from his hamstring strain, making two appearances off the bench. He was named in Farke’s lineup for the first three games of the season, however, and today’s clash with Bristol City could be the ideal game to play him from the start and look to continue building his match fitness.
The Welshman made his most recent appearance in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory against Watford. It was a game in which he replaced Gnonto, with just 18 minutes of the 90 loft to play.
However, the 26-year-old made an excellent impact, creating two chances in that time. As per Sofascore, there were just three of his teammates who created more across the entire game.
Stat
Number
Touches
9
Pass accuracy
80%
Shots
2
Key passes
2
Big chances created
2
Expected assists
0.42xA
James is an electric winger who loves to run at opposition defenders. His devastating pace could wreak havoc on opposition defence, and Saturday’s clash with the Robins could be as good a time as any for Farke to unleash him.
Starting the winger, who was described as “underrated” by football statistician Statman Dave, would allow Gnonto to get invaluable rest and James to build up his match fitness again, which will be crucial as the season really hots up.
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