After Willy Gnonto handed in his transfer request in August, it looked impossible he would be in this position for Leeds United right now.
Gnonto and his teammates are preparing for a Championship play-off final with Southampton on Sunday knowing a win would seal an immediate return to the Premier League.
The 20-year-old had been looking to force through a quick move back to the top-flight during the summer amid interest from Everton, missing two league matches after refusing to play.
Based on some of the chants in the stands, many Leeds fans had washed their hands with Gnonto after his actions but both 49ers Enterprises and Daniel Farke were keen to keep him, and that’s what happened.
It certainly took him some time to overcome the hangover of the summer’s events, as he started just twice between the start of October and end of December.
Gnonto opens up on Leeds transfer request in August
Both Dan James and Crysencio Summerville had been in scintillating form until the former picked up an injury in late January in a win over Norwich City.
That finally handed Gnonto his chance to get a sustained run of starts in the team, and he has not looked back since, scoring seven goals in Leeds‘ last 15 regular season matches.
And with James having been unable to reclaim his place back, Gnonto looks set to be in the starting XI at Wembley where he could effectively come full circle.
Speaking in an interview with Leeds Live, Gnonto says these sort of ‘moments’ are all he was thinking about back in August when he was regularly sitting alone in his own thoughts.
He said: “I remember, in August, being by myself thinking about these types of moments. I was a bit down, but this was my motivation. At the start of the season, I was thinking what could have been at the end of the season.
“Being in this situation now, in this position, is just amazing. I just want to give myself and the team the reward we deserve.”
Gnonto winner in the final would be complete full circle
It really would be the craziest of scripts if Gnonto was the man to fire Leeds back into the Premier League after what happened at the start of the season.
Gnonto was training alone for a good two weeks back in August and at one stage, it really did look as though there was no way back at Elland Road.
He played a key role in the second half of the season but ultimately it wasn’t enough as Leeds fell short in the hunt for the top two.
However, the play-off final is now effectively Leeds’ final shot at promotion and seeing him score the winner would be enough to endear him into the hearts of fans forever.