Wilfried Gnonto to stay at Leeds United, rejects deadline day move to Everton
Wilfried Gnonto has rejected a deadline day move to Everton and will stay at Leeds United, according to Gianluigi Longari.
Writing on his official website SportItalia.net (1 September), the journalist reports that the 19-year-old winger has opted to stay at Elland Road this summer.
Reports suggested the two clubs had found an agreement worth £38.5m with a deal “all done”, but Longari says that is wrong and the player has rejected the move to stay in the Championship.
“According to what was collected exclusively by the SPORTITALIA editorial staff, in the end the Italian striker should remain in the Championship,” they wrote.
“Wilfried Gnonto rejects Everton: according to what was collected by the SPORTITALIA editorial staff, the attacker should eventually stay at Leeds.”
Brilliant
We said it was a rollercoaster of a deal earlier on, and it just took another turn with this news.
Gnonto has wanted to move all summer so it’s no shock that when news broke that a deal was “all done” many fans believed it could be the case.
But the Italian is clearly keen to go to Euro 2024 and knows that regular football is the best way for him to get it. Everton have been pushing for a while but have a lot of options in attack, and are far more likely to be playing defensive football to avoid relegation than Leeds are.
With no time to find a replacement the club were always going to be reluctant to let him go, and it seems the player has accepted our decision to not sell by rejecting the late move and sticking around.
It’s fantastic news and one way to further endear himself to the fans. Welcome back, Willy!
In other Leeds news, exit-linked Whites ace spotted leaving Thorp Arch as transfer rumors swirl.