Farke must cash in on Leeds flop who earns more than Gnonto — Football Fancast 26/11/24
By Dan Emery
Leeds United are currently top of the Championship table and
are on course to secure an automatic promotion to the Premier League this
season.
The Whites are ahead of Sunderland and Sheffield United on
goal difference after 16 outings in the second tier, having won in Wales
against Swansea on Sunday.
Daniel Farke's side scored in the 91st minute to secure all
three points in a dramatic 4-3 victory over Luke Williams' team, thanks to a
strike from Wilfried Gnonto.
The Italian youngster came off the bench to score the
winning goal after being selected to start the game on the bench, as Manor
Solomon was picked ahead of him and scored two of the team's first three goals
on the day.
Swansea thought they had snatched a late point against the
Whites when they made it 3-3 in the 90th minute, only for Gnonto to score
within a minute after the restart.
It was the 21-year-old star's third goal, to go along with
five assists, in 16 Championship appearances this season, as he has shown
himself to be a difference-maker in the final third.
Gnonto has the joint-most goal contributions (eight)
alongside Joel Piroe in the Leeds squad this season, and the West Yorkshire
outfit have got value for their money with respect to his weekly wage.
The Italian winger is reportedly on a wage of £30k-per-week and nine other players in the squad earn more than him, four of which are attackers who have contributed less at the top end of the pitch.
As you can see in the table above, the likes of Solomon, Dan
James, Brenden Aaronson, and Patrick Bamford all reportedly earn more than the
attacker.
Leeds may be particularly disappointed with the lack of
impact that Bamford, who is the highest earner in the squad, has made so far
this season, with zero goals and zero assists in six appearances in the league
this season.
The former England international managed eight goals in 33
Championship outings, from an xG of 9.52, in the 2023/24 campaign, and has
found himself behind Piroe and Mateo Joseph in the pecking order this time
around.
Whilst Gnonto has provided fantastic value for the money he
is reportedly on in the second tier so far this season, Max Wober is one player
who has not offered much for his reported £35k-per-week.
The Austria international returned to Elland Road in the
summer after spending last season on loan with Borussia Monchengladbach, after
he had been relegated from the Premier League with Leeds.
In the January transfer window in 2023, Jesse Marsch swooped
to sign the central defender from RB Salzburg for a reported fee of £11m in an
attempt to bolster his defence.
Unfortunately, the Austrian battler came in and failed to do
enough to help the team to avoid the drop down to the Championship, as they
were eventually relegated under Sam Allardyce, after Marsch and Javi Gracia
were both sacked.
He was thrown straight in at the deep end and started 14 of
his 16 appearances in the Premier League of the 2022/23 campaign and struggled
to adapt to the division.
Wober barely won the majority of his duels with opposition
attackers and was incredibly loose with his passes, failing with 29% of them.
The left-footed Leeds flop then went to Monchengladbach on
loan in the Bundesliga for the 2023/24 campaign and made 25 appearances in the
German top-flight, winning 58% of his duels and completing 84% of his attempted
passes.
He went away with Austria to play at the European
Championship in Germany in the summer and had a nightmare start, scoring an own
goal in a 1-0 defeat to France, with pundit Roy Keane criticising his
"really poor" defending, and went on to start two of their four
games.
Wober was then brought back in to be a part of Farke's squad
for this season, but he has failed to earn himself a place in the starting XI
ahead of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk.
The German head coach must ruthlessly cash in on the Austria
international when the January transfer window, as he has not produced enough
to warrant his high wages in a Leeds shirt.
Wober has missed ten games, for club and country, with a
knee injury, which has disrupted his season, but he was an unused substitute in
three Championship matches before his injury, and started in a 3-0 defeat to
Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup.
The 26-year-old flop came on to make his first appearance in
the second tier for Leeds in the 2024/25 campaign in the 4-3 win over Swansea,
coming on for the final 14 minutes of the game at left-back - with Junior Firpo
currently out through suspension.
He had been an unused substitute in six league games before
that outing against the Swans, which means that Farke has only elected to use
him in one of the seven matches he has been available for.
As a left-footed defender, Struijk is his main competition
for a starting spot and the Dutchman has started all 16 league games and won
63% of his duels, which shows that the manager trusts him.
This suggests that it will be very difficult for Wober to
now break into the starting XI unless the academy graduate sustains a long-term
injury or is suspended.
With this, and his £35k-per-week wages in mind, Farke must
allow the club to find a suitor to buy, or loan in, the Austria international
in January, ruthlessly ditching him from the squad in the process.