Everton reportedly made a £23 million offer for Wilfried Gnonto this summer, but Leeds United reportedly turned it down. Gnonto has been consistently linked to leaving Elland Road for the past two seasons.
This is in line with a recent allegation by Yorkshire Evening Post writer Graham Smyth, who states that Leeds has rejected a second bid above £20 million for one of their most valuable assets.
After missing out on promotion to the Premier League the first time around, Leeds has struggled to hang on to some of its best players. The play-off final loss to Southampton in May put their desire to retain players to the test ahead of the new campaign.
Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville, who were both plucked by Premier League teams and cost Leeds a total of £65 million in initial outlays, are the two major exits at this point.
The Whites signed Joe Rodon, Alex Cairns, Joe Rothwell, and Jayden Bogle during the summer, but they are expected to acquire more players due to interest in Jonathan Rowe of Norwich City. On Saturday afternoon, they will kick off their 2024–25 Championship campaign at Elland Road against the recently promoted Portsmouth.
Leeds United reject fresh Everton Wilfried Gnonto bid.
Everton were among the clubs prominently associated with Gnonto last summer and have continued their interest this time around, although they’ve been turned back after submitting a £23 million bid.
Smyth’s report indicates that Leeds’ rejection of the approach has stopped any negotiations with the Toffees for the time being, however Serie A trio Genoa, Parma and Venezia have also each been credited with an interest in the 20-year-old attacker by Inter Live.
Gnonto, who submitted a transfer request at this time last year and was briefly benched from Daniel Farke’s team, has reportedly made “no noise” about his desire to leave the club and is training normally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign.
Leeds United can benefit greatly from Willy Gnonto’s leadership.
Leeds fans’ opinions on social media this morning have been divided by the revelation. While some feel the club should accept a sale and that Everton’s offer already exceeds Gnonto’s value, the majority feel it is now more crucial than ever to hold onto Gnonto in light of Summerville’s departure. Summerville had a huge impact on the proceedings last term, so it won’t be simple to replace him directly—though Rowe of Norwich seems like a good alternative.
In the Championship, Rowe played better than Gnonto in 23/24. Though there is a belief that Leeds may find it difficult to find a player more gifted than the 13-cap Italian international to replace Summerville, Gnonto’s ceiling is still extremely high if he can reach his full potential.
Of course, each player has their price, and it’s far from guaranteed at this point that Gnonto will actually stay put. If he does, though, Leeds will expect him to have a big season.
The winger was nonetheless impressive in the previous season, and he has the ability to light up the division in the same manner as Summerville. Now that the Dutchman is gone, Gnonto must stand up, take the lead for Farke’s team, and consistently win games. He is more than capable of doing this.
Leeds must realize that if Gnonto does, in fact, start playing like a machine next season, it will definitely help their chances of promotion and lessen the sting of losing Summerville.
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