Leeds United are currently top of the Championship table and are on course to secure an automatic promotion to the Premier League this season.
The Whites are ahead of Sunderland and Sheffield United on goal difference after 16 outings in the second tier, having won in Wales against Swansea on Sunday.
Daniel Farke’s side scored in the 91st minute to secure all three points in a dramatic 4-3 victory over Luke Williams’ team, thanks to a strike from Wilfried Gnonto.
The Italian youngster came off the bench to score the winning goal after being selected to start the game on the bench, as Manor Solomon was picked ahead of him and scored two of the team’s first three goals on the day.
Swansea thought they had snatched a late point against the Whites when they made it 3-3 in the 90th minute, only for Gnonto to score within a minute after the restart.
It was the 21-year-old star’s third goal, to go along with five assists, in 16 Championship appearances this season, as he has shown himself to be a difference-maker in the final third.
Leeds United's top earners
Gnonto has the joint-most goal contributions (eight) alongside Joel Piroe in the Leeds squad this season, and the West Yorkshire outfit have got value for their money with respect to his weekly wage.
The Italian winger is reportedly on a wage of £30k-per-week and nine other players in the squad earn more than him, four of which are attackers who have contributed less at the top end of the pitch.
Patrick Bamford
£70k
Junior Firpo
£60k
Manor Solomon
£60k
Dan James
£50k
Pascal Struijk
£50k
Brenden Aaronson
£45k
Ethan Ampadu
£40k
Joe Rodon
£40k
Max Wober
£35k
Wilfried Gnonto
£30k
As you can see in the table above, the likes of Solomon, Dan James, Brenden Aaronson, and Patrick Bamford all reportedly earn more than the attacker.
Leeds may be particularly disappointed with the lack of impact that Bamford, who is the highest earner in the squad, has made so far this season, with zero goals and zero assists in six appearances in the league this season.
The former England international managed eight goals in 33 Championship outings, from an xG of 9.52, in the 2023/24 campaign, and has found himself behind Piroe and Mateo Joseph in the pecking order this time around.
Whilst Gnonto has provided fantastic value for the money he is reportedly on in the second tier so far this season, Max Wober is one player who has not offered much for his reported £35k-per-week.
The Austria international returned to Elland Road in the summer after spending last season on loan with Borussia Monchengladbach, after he had been relegated from the Premier League with Leeds.
Max Wober's poor start to life at Leeds
In the January transfer window in 2023, Jesse Marsch swooped to sign the central defender from RB Salzburg for a reported fee of £11m in an attempt to bolster his defence.
Unfortunately, the Austrian battler came in and failed to do enough to help the team to avoid the drop down to the Championship, as they were eventually relegated under Sam Allardyce, after Marsch and Javi Gracia were both sacked.
He was thrown straight in at the deep end and started 14 of his 16 appearances in the Premier League of the 2022/23 campaign and struggled to adapt to the division.
Appearances
16
Wins
2
Pass accuracy
71%
Dribbled past
8x
Error led to shot
1
Penalties committed
1
Duel success rate
53%
As you can see in the table above, Wober barely won the majority of his duels with opposition attackers and was incredibly loose with his passes, failing with 29% of them.
The left-footed Leeds flop then went to Monchengladbach on loan in the Bundesliga for the 2023/24 campaign and made 25 appearances in the German top-flight, winning 58% of his duels and completing 84% of his attempted passes.
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He went away with Austria to play at the European Championship in Germany in the summer and had a nightmare start, scoring an own goal in a 1-0 defeat to France, with pundit Roy Keane criticising his “really poor” defending, and went on to start two of their four games.
Wober was then brought back in to be a part of Farke’s squad for this season, but he has failed to earn himself a place in the starting XI ahead of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk.
Why Leeds should cash in on Max Wober
The German head coach must ruthlessly cash in on the Austria international when the January transfer window, as he has not produced enough to warrant his high wages in a Leeds shirt.
Wober has missed ten games, for club and country, with a knee injury, which has disrupted his season, but he was an unused substitute in three Championship matches before his injury, and started in a 3-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup.
The 26-year-old flop came on to make his first appearance in the second tier for Leeds in the 2024/25 campaign in the 4-3 win over Swansea, coming on for the final 14 minutes of the game at left-back – with Junior Firpo currently out through suspension.
He had been an unused substitute in six league games before that outing against the Swans, which means that Farke has only elected to use him in one of the seven matches he has been available for.
As a left-footed defender, Struijk is his main competition for a starting spot and the Dutchman has started all 16 league games and won 63% of his duels, which shows that the manager trusts him.
This suggests that it will be very difficult for Wober to now break into the starting XI unless the academy graduate sustains a long-term injury or is suspended.
With this, and his £35k-per-week wages in mind, Farke must allow the club to find a suitor to buy, or loan in, the Austria international in January, ruthlessly ditching him from the squad in the process.
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