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Leeds United suffered their second Premier League defeat of the season over the weekend as they lost 2-0 to Bournemouth.
I know I was not the only supporter who was frustrated to see Dan James starting for us in the Premier League when it’s clear he’s miles off the level required.
It’s unrealistic that Noah Okafor will be available every minute of every game on the left wing for us. I understand that.
However, we have a current winger on our books who is better than James. I cannot help but think that the 49ers’ decision to loan him out is backfiring for us already.
Willy Gnonto struggling to break into the team at Fiorentina
Willy Gnonto left United on loan this summer to return to Italy in search of more regular game time. But it hasn’t worked so far, with the winger only starting one game in Serie A so far for Fiorentina.
The vast majority of our fanbase believe that Gnonto is a better player than James. So what was the point in loaning him out to somewhere where he isn’t even playing?
I’m not saying Gnonto is a perfect backup for Okafor. We still need better depth in that area. But for the here and now, if you’re asking me who I’d rather have out of Gnonto and James as a squad player for us this season, it’s Gnonto easily.
Another problem is that when we let Gnonto go, Jean-Matteo Bahoya was the winger we brought in to replace him.
In his press conference last week, Farke made his feelings on Bahoya abundantly clear.
Last season, it was evident that Farke didn’t trust Gnonto enough to give him more minutes off the bench. This season, it’s also clear to me that Farke trusts Bahoya even less.
So there’s a real argument that our options for that left wing position this season have actually got weaker.
Furthermore, Gnonto isn’t even starting enough games in Italy to really raise his stock. Ahead of a potential sale next summer, this only makes the 49ers’ task of selling Gnonto harder.
So again, I raise the point: what was the point of letting Gnonto go if he’s not going to play? Especially if we knew we wouldn’t secure an upgrade who Farke trusts to play when Okafor is out, because we all know that James isn’t the answer.
Willy Gnonto’s struggles in Italy can arguably be put at Daniel Farke’s door
Whilst I’m going to criticise Farke, I still want to make it clear that I think he is the right man to lead us forward for the time being.
However, even his staunchest defenders have to admit the German’s management of certain players has been questionable at times.
Some supporters may be arguing that if Gnonto cannot even break into Fiorentina’s starting XI, how was he ever going to contribute for us?
I’d argue that one of the main reasons why Gnonto has only played 229 minutes in Serie A this season is because Farke hampered the 22-year-old’s development heavily last season. (Sofascore)
It was always going to be hard for Gnonto to go to a new club and hit the ground running after effectively being a cheerleader for us for the majority of last season.
On paper, letting Gnonto go made sense. He wanted to play, and Farke couldn’t give him the game time he was looking for.
But he should’ve been loaned out to a club where it was clear he could walk through the door and be one of the first names on the team sheet.
In Gnonto’s place, we’ve got Bahoya, who for now looks like he’ll play an even smaller role than Gnonto did for us last season.
So anytime Okafor is out, James looks to be the prime candidate Farke will turn to. Gnonto made four more Premier League appearances than James last season. So at least Farke viewed them both on a relatively even playing field.
This season we’re stuck with James, who is still not good enough, and Bahoya, who Farke clearly believes is a significant downgrade on the Welshman.
