WILFRIED GNONTO angered Leeds fans when he handed in a transfer request in August.
The Italy midfielder, 20, was advised by his representatives to jump ship following relegation.
And he faced a backlash from the Elland Road faithful as he tried to force a move to Everton by asking to leave.
Just hours after putting in a written request, fans held a banner of a doctored image of Gnonto wearing a nappy — branding him a cry baby for not wanting to play in the Championship.
But he soon withdrew his request and has won back the hearts of the fans for knuckling down and producing some brilliant hardworking performances on the right wing.
He told SunSport: “In a relationship of love there are many ups and downs and I look at this period as a down.
“From that point I’ve worked hard in training and games to get into the situation I am in now and the fans can see that. I’m getting what I earned.”
Gnonto, signed from Zurich for £4million in September 2022, had a promising first season at Elland Road but it was not enough to stop the club crashing out of the Premier League.
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The winger — who has won 13 caps for the Azzurri — said: “It was difficult for me because if I judge last season on a personal level it was positive.
“Yet I wanted to achieve the goal of staying in the Premier League and didn’t expect to go down. So the summer was difficult. I found myself in a new situation.
“But I’ve played a season in the Championship, hopefully we’ll win this weekend and be back after just one season away.”
Gnonto admits the adaptation from the Premier League to Championship football is not an easy one — and many people underestimate just how good the second tier is.
And the 46 league games, compared to just 38 in the Premier League, can take its toll on any team — which was seen by the top four clubs Leicester, Ipswich, Leeds and Southampton all suffering blips at various stages of the season.
Gnonto said: “I feel like I’m not going to find myself in this sort of season ever again.
“Playing this number of games it’s almost impossible to play every single match because you’re going to have periods of the season where you feel better physically and periods where you feel you cannot play football anymore!
“But we’re lucky in having so many quality players.
“When we were relegated, I didn’t really know what sort of games I was going to find myself in.
“In Italy I didn’t know much about it apart from of course that it’s a big competition and that there are lots of good teams.
“But I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it has been. If I’m honest, all the teams are capable of embarrassing you. If you don’t go into the game with the right mindset, you can lose 4-0 like we have against QPR.
“In 46 games it’s impossible to win them all — but we’ve been quite consistent throughout the season.”
Playing in the Championship has contributed to Gnonto losing his place in recent Italy squads — having won two caps at the start of the season. And he is unlikely to be named in the squad for Euro 2024.
But the youngster has had no problem dropping down to the national team’s under-21s.
And he said: “My biggest goal is to get back into the national team. This is a players’ biggest dream: to play in the biggest competitions.
“Going back to the Premier League will help me. I knew it in the summer and before I came here.
“Growing up I’ve always seen the national team as my main goal – but of course even playing in the under-21s is a huge honour for me.”
Gnonto hit some of his best form in a Leeds shirt during February and March — scoring seven goals in 11 games.
That run of form helped them even go top of the Championship.
And the Italian said: “That form coincided with when I started games and getting more time on the pitch.
“I was playing my best football this season and the team were as well.
“But we had a period after the international break which was difficult and we lost four of our last seven games and only won once — but it’s normal in this type of long season so we didn’t need to overreact.
“We must stay calm so we can overturn the season. It didn’t end how we wanted but we’re still going to play a final and have a chance to go up.”
Gnonto — who says the atmosphere at Elland Road during their 4-0 play-off second-leg trouncing of Norwich was the best he has experienced — believes winning at Wembley will provide some redemption for the fans after relegation last summer.
And, having experienced playing for Italy against England under the arch, he is excited to be getting another chance to tread the hallowed turf.
He said: “Hopefully we can do it for the fans. Leeds should be in the Premier League. So we’re all excited to get this opportunity to get the club back there.”
