Leeds United star Willy Gnonto admits that returning to play for his boyhood team Inter Milan would be a “dream” for him.
Speaking to Italian news outlet Cronache A Spogliatoio’s YouTube channel, the 19-year-old opened up on a desire to eventually return to the Nerazzurri.
Gnonto spent almost a decade coming through the youth ranks at Inter.
The Italian international was considered to be one of the outstanding talents within the Nerazzurri’s Primavera team.
However, the young winger made the decision to leave in 2020. Gnonto felt that he did not have the prospects of playing time at the senior level with the Nerazzurri.
It was Swiss club Zurich FC who put their faith in Gnonto.
The ex-Nerazzurri youth player was a key man as Zurich win the Swiss Super League title last season.
This earned Gnonto his first senior call-up to the Italian national team year. Already this has turned into ten caps for the 19-year-old. Gnonto is now a regular for Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri side.
Moreover, Gnonto’s form in Switzerland earned him a big money move to the Premier League. Leeds United snapped up the Italian, who is now attempting to keep the West Yorkshire team in the Premier League.
Leeds Star Willy Gnonto: ‘Dream Of Going Back To Inter Milan’
“Like every youngster, I have a team that I love,” Gnonto said.
“I think playing there was and is a dream, although I don’t know if I can make it come true,” he continued. “Having reached this level is already incredible.”
“If I stay committed, I can one day play for Inter, or at that level,” he said.
Gnonto also noted that “San Siro is beautiful. A few years before I was there in the stands, and then I got to play there.”
Gnonto looked back that “I grew up in Italy, I’ve been at Inter since I was eight, leaving never crossed my mind.”
“At a certain point I had to think about what was right for me,” he continued. “Going to Switzerland wasn’t the most obvious choice, but it was the right one at that time.”
“I was lucky that my parents accompanied me, I didn’t move to another country alone.”
“The choice was a difficult one because it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I’m happy about it.”
Of training with the Inter first team, Gnonto recalled that “I remember D’Ambrosio give me a shove in training. He made me realize that I wasn’t a footballer yet.”
“It was five against five, the ball went square, close to the touchline,” he explained.
“I thought I’d hesitate a moment, get my body in front of the ball,” Gnonto explained. “He waited for me, and as I went towards the ball, he leant into me and I fell to the ground.”
“I stood there, still, and realized that the level was still too high for me,” he added.
