Leeds United transfer news: Willy Gnonto ‘discount’ Inter return eyed amid Juventus pressure as cheap fee emerges
Willy Gnonto is viewed as a “discount” option to leave Leeds United this summer for former side Inter at just €10million [£8.6million], according to Inter Live.
The Italian teenager was one of the brighter spots in a miserable season at Elland Road that concluded with relegation to the Championship a week ago (28 May) and will now see various first-team players leave.
The Whites will “fight” to keep hold of the former FC Zurich forward [The Athletic, 1 June] but there is also interest from Serie A giants Juventus, who are “much more eager to get their hands on him” than the Nerazzurri say Inter Live.
Gnonto made 28 appearances in all competitions for Leeds United after arriving as a deadline day signing last summer, scoring four goals, but fell out of favour under Javi Gracia.
Robbery
Yes, the Whites have been relegated and will therefore have to shed some of their high-priced Premier League stars, but the value quoted for Gnonto is surely not going to get him out of Elland Road.
With a contract that runs for another three years, and at 19 plenty of time to make his next move, if the club are planning to fight to keep him it will take a lot more than £8.6million to change that.
Whoever the next manager eventually is, once Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers finally come to a decision about who will be in charge of the operation moving forward, should look to make the teenager a central part of the side for the Championship.
That alone may be enough to convince him to stay for a year and make a push to return Leeds United to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Granted, a full Italy international spending a season in the second tier is far from guaranteed, but he was picked for the national team playing in Switzerland as well and Roberto Mancini can clearly see his quality.
He was cheap a year ago but that doesn’t mean he should remain so this summer after a year in which he was at times the best player on the pitch in the top flight.
It won’t exactly be easy to keep him at the club, but it needs to take a hefty fee and a clear preference on his side to move on to let him go.
In other Leeds United news, two exit-bound Whites veterans are set to learn their confirmed futures this week.