Everton make £25.7m bid to seal Wilfried Gnonto transfer, Leeds United decision made

Everton made a bid of £25.7million to seal the transfer for Wilfried Gnonto from Leeds United, but it was turned down as it fell short of Leeds' £30million valuation, according to Shamoon Hafez.

The BBC Sport journalist shared via his Twitter account that Leeds have now turned down three separate offers from the Merseyside club, and have made their stance clear as they have all summer - they don't want to sell.

It is also claimed that Everton are not willing to go any higher than their latest offer, suggesting that this deal could now be dead, with a compromise not reached between the clubs.

Everton need to move on

The Toffees have known for weeks that Leeds would not budge on their valuation of the Italian forward. They were always going to demand a high fee, and their stance has still not changed despite Everton's best attempts otherwise. The club will now need to move on.

Leeds will be at ease, if the claim that Everton will not return with a higher bid is true, as the aim for this summer has been to hold on to their best talents, despite having lost a number of key players due to release clauses. Gnonto did not have such a clause, giving Leeds all the power here.

As a result of this, Leeds could be set to keep their man, alongside his fellow winger Crysencio Summerville, after Burnley pulled out of a move for the Dutch star in an effort to focus the final stages of their transfer plans on other players.

It has been a turbulent summer at Elland Road with plenty of outgoings, but if Gnonto is not going to be one of them, they can take some respite in their bold transfer approach. Standing firm and insisting on their value seems to have worked.

In other Leeds United news, the club are finalising paperwork for a new star signing.