"The pressure is on him" - Daniel Farke urged to get Willy Gnonto situation right at Leeds United | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit has issued one message to manager Daniel Farke

Daniel Farke’s first season in charge at Leeds United ended in disappointment despite the team performing so well throughout the campaign.

The Whites earned 90 points in the Championship, but still finished six points adrift of the automatic promotion places, coming third.

A play-off final defeat to Southampton ensured they remained in the second tier for another year.

But the team has made a solid start to the new term, and will be looking to bounce back from that disappointment to finish inside the top two this year.

While Farke is under more pressure to deliver this year compared to his first 12 months in charge, his side are only three points off top spot after nine games.

Daniel Farke urged to build around Leeds star

When asked what message he had for Farke, FLW’s Leeds fan pundit Kris Smith claimed that the only thing the German has to do this year is build his team around Wilfried Gnonto.

He believes the 20-year-old is the best player in the entire division, and that, with Crysencio Summerville now gone, it’s time to build the way the team plays around getting the best out of him.

“After Leeds got 90 points last season, and putting up a solid start this time around, where we’re clearly in the mix for the top two, it’s hard to specifically tell Daniel Farke what he needs to fix in this current Leeds side,” Smith told Football League World.

“Because he clearly is making some tweaks already to what went wrong last season.

“However, if there is one thing, for me, that he needs to do as Leeds manager, or at least what he needs to keep doing and continue is building his team around getting the best out of Willy Gnonto.

“For me, Leeds have the best player in the division with Gnonto, and he’s only going to keep getting better given he’s only 20.

“And Farke is the man in charge of making that happen, so the pressure is on him to ensure that Gnonto is performing as the best player in the league, like we all know he is.

“Last season, we saw Gnonto shoe-horned into the side on the right wing in order to ensure Summerville stayed in his best position, and obviously that worked with Summerville.

“But it was to the detriment of Gnonto.

“Now that Gnonto is a made man, playing him at his best, wherever that position may be, is the most important thing for Farke’s success this season.

“The new contract was a good start in terms of making sure that happened, but Farke really needs to focus on getting 100 per cent out of the best attacker, if not the best player in the league”

Leeds United league position

Leeds are currently fifth in the Championship table, having drawn their last two matches prior to the October international break.

The Yorkshire outfit are only three points behind league leaders Sunderland, with the battle for the automatic promotion places still very tight in this early stage of the campaign.

Leeds have won four, drawn four and lost one, to earn 16 points from a possible 27.

Up next for Farke’e side will be a home game against rivals Sheffield United on 18 October.

Gnonto will be key to Leeds’ promotion hopes

Gnonto had an underwhelming second season at Elland Road after showing a lot of promise in 2022/23 as the team suffered relegation to the Championship.

He showcased a lot of potential in the top flight, contributing two goals and four assists from 24 appearances in the league (all stats from Fbref).

But he was clearly outshone by Summerville last year, scoring just eight from 36 in the second division.

However, he’s been excellent so far this season and if he can keep up his current form then he will be the key player for their immediate promotion hopes.