Willy Gnonto asks not to play for Leeds United, wants to leave with Burnley and Everton in transfer race
Willy Gnonto is “frustrated” at Leeds United and asked to be left out of the squad to face Shrewsbury because he wants to leave, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reported on their website during the game on Wednesday night (9 August) that the reason the 19-year-old was absent from the match-day squad was because he “wants the club to consider letting him go before the window closes”.
Premier League sides Everton, with a rejected £15million bid, and Burnley, Serie A giants Inter, and Bundelisga side Freiburg are named among the interested parties, as the Italian international “seeks a move away”.
Gnonto started as an emergency striker for the 2-2 draw with Cardiff City on Sunday (6 August) in Daniel Farke’s first game in charge and Leeds are reportedly “steadfast” in not wanting to let him go, but according to The Mail he wants to maintain his place in the national team for the European Championships at the end of the season.
Therefore, while he “understands” the club’s position he “wants the opportunity to speak to interested clubs and return to playing top flight football”.
Another one
Getting through the whole summer to the start of the season with so many key players still at Elland Road was some achievement following relegation, but as the deadline approaches now nothing is off the table.
The threat of big clubs deciding that the answers to their late-window questions lie within the Leeds United squad has been demonstrated by Chelsea closing in on a move for Tyler Adams.
And, after Max Wober made an abrupt loan departure to Germany, Gnonto’s apparent stance shows that those with exit options and international careers to maintain are also liable to want out.
If the suggestion that he was left out of the Carabao Cup win because he wants to go is accurate then it is going to be a tricky proposition for Farke and the Elland Road hierarchy to prevent it.
They have the ability to play hardball because he is one of the few who appears not to have a relegation release clause, but keeping an unhappy player at the club is always a risk.
And when the manager, for now, has Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra, Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter, Ian Poveda and Dan James who all play in similar positions it might not be worth the hassle to force Gnonto to stay.
Farke could probably do with the money a sale would generate to get some late incoming deals over the line, but he will be wary of the fact that any of the aforementioned names could also still leave before the window shuts.
In other Leeds United news, Sky Sports reported a “significant” update with a new player at the club ready for his medical.