From frozen out to red hot… Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra help dynamic Leeds United tear Ipswich Town apart in Championship clash as redemption comes quick in football
- Leeds duo Gnonto and Sinisterra went from villains to hero’s for Leeds this week
- The pair were both on the scoresheet despite pushing for moves this window
- Daniel Farke has stressed he only wants fully committed players in his squad
Frozen out in the cold one week, running hot the next, Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra proved redemption can come quickly in football.
Italy international Gnonto, 19, refused to play for Leeds as he tried to push through a move to Everton. Banished to train alone, fans mocked him up as a cry-baby on a banner at Elland Road.
Colombian winger Sinisterra, 24, also declined to be picked for two games, believing his contract contained a relegation clause which had actually expired.
Yet here they both were on the scoresheet and apparently happy to be turning out for Leeds in the Championship after all.
Daniel Farke has stressed repeatedly he only wants fully committed players in his squad as the Yorkshire club try to return first time to the Premier League.
Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra (left) proved redemption can come quickly in football
Gnonto (right) refused to play for Leeds to pursue a move to Everton but scored on Saturday
Fans mocked Gnonto up as a cry-baby on a banner at Elland Road last weekend
So the German manager has pulled off a diplomatic masterstroke to get Gnonto and Sinisterra back into the fold.
In tandem with new £12million signing Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter, Leeds’ dynamic attack tore Ipswich apart to earn a first league win in 13 attempts.
Dutch striker Piroe, 24, could well prove to be an inspired signing. There are few better at this standard after his return of 46 goals in 96 games for Swansea.
Despite the benefit of just one training session with his new team-mates after signing on Thursday night, Piroe grabbed a debut goal, the third in a brilliant nine-minute spell that stunned Ipswich.
‘His statistics speak for themselves, he is an unbelievably quality player,’ Farke said of Piroe.
‘He has scored more than 20 goals in the last two seasons, with many, many assists. He is also a good team-mate, a really humble, hard-working character.
‘We need it, especially the goals in our squad. He’s still a pretty good age, there’s much more to come. He has the full package in terms of personality, quality and age.’
Daniel Farke pulled off a diplomatic masterstroke to get Gnonto and Sinisterra back into the fold
The head coach praised ‘unbelievably quality player’ Joel Piroe after his move from Swansea
While it feels as if Leeds may be up and running after a sluggish start, Ipswich had already raced out of the blocks following promotion from League One.
Defeat in this seven-goal thriller was their first in league competition since January 21 but they matched Leeds in most departments and look likely to prosper in the Championship.
None of this comes as a surprise to Town forward Conor Chaplin.
‘We want to be competing at the top end of this division. It’s not a surprise to us that we’ve been the better team today,’ he said.
‘It’s not, “Oh well done, you’ve competed with Leeds” at all, we expect it from within so that is why there is disappointment.
‘We expect to compete with every team in the league, we don’t want any pats on the back because we’re competing with Leeds.’
Chaplin scored Ipswich’s third with the game’s final kick but was annoyed there wasn’t time for one final assault after just five minutes were shown on the board.
‘I thought it was a shambles there was only five minutes added. There were 10 subs which was five minutes in itself,’ he said.
‘It’s frustrating because every single game is different.’
