Here are the Leeds United evening headlines on Thursday, December 15.
Young Leeds United star's agent says summer move 'made everyone happy'
Wilfried Gnonto's agent has revealed that his £4 million move from FC Zurich to Leeds United in the summer transfer window 'made everyone' involved with the deal 'happy'.
The 19-year-old has already made his impact felt at Elland Road this season, netting for the club's Under-21s in the Premier League 2 Division 2 before finding an assist in just his second Premier League match - the 4-3 win over Bournemouth in early November.
READ MORE: Leeds United and their rivals step up preparations for Premier League return
Manager Jesse Marsch clearly sees him as a useful weapon to bring on late on in a close game, something he did against Liverpool in the shock 2-1 victory after another youngster, Crysencio Summerville, found the winner with just a minute of normal time left.
Speaking to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Gnonto's agent Marco Busiello noted that both sides and the player were all delighted with the move at the time, and are still happy with it now.
"It was an operation born and carried out together," Busiello explained.
"And that made everyone happy. Leeds because they were able to buy their first Italian player. The boy was happy because he made the leap of quality. And also (it benefitted) Zurich."
How Leeds United and their Premier League rivals are preparing ahead of domestic return
Leeds United have the daunting prospect of welcoming Manchester City to Elland Road when they return to action in the Premier League on December 28.
The Whites' domestic restart preparations have seen them travel out to Spain, where they faced off against La Liga side Elche, in a game they won 2-1.
On Friday night, they will continue their City prep with a clash against Real Sociedad at Elland Road, with the Basque side currently sitting third in La Liga.
Jesse Marsch's post-World Cup hangover efforts as Leeds United boss explains unique challenge
The notion of a post-World Cup hangover isn’t exactly new. After such a high-pressure and emotional experience representing their respective countries, it seems understandable that those involved in major tournaments would go through a bit of a mental drop off.
Usually when players return to their clubs, they would have a month or two to regather themselves and edge themselves back into competitive action before the Premier League action gets underway once more. The class of 2022 won’t be given that privilege, though, and as they return from Qatar, they will be expected to leave the tournament in the rear view mirror and jump straight back into domestic action.
That will be the challenge facing Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen, who have all now returned to Thorp Arch following their World Cup efforts. The trio were given time away from Yorkshire to partially recuperate and their workloads will be managed appropriately over the next week or so.
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