Leeds United won’t receive full value for exit-linked Willy Gnonto in January amid ‘difficult’ Elland Road situation
Leeds United won’t receive full value for Willy Gnonto if they were to sell him in the January transfer window, according to Dean Jones.
Speaking to GiveMeSport on Saturday (23 December), the former Eurosport journalist said he doesn’t believe it would be a great time for the Whites to lose the Italian international as they find themselves in a “difficult situation” in the league at the moment.
He added that there are very few teams in the Championship that have a player as good as the 19-year-old forward at their disposal as they look to chase down Ipswich Town for an automatic promotion place this season.
“Leeds are in a bit of a difficult situation at the moment in the league,” said Jones. “I don’t think they’ve fallen away totally. You could look at their league position and say they’re behind two teams having a brilliant season.
“But it does feel like they’re wavering, and you need things to pick up quickly. I don’t think it’d be great to be losing Gnonto in a moment like this.
“Very few teams in the Championship have a player as good as this. I also don’t think you’ll get full value for him in a January window. So, I don’t think it’d be a great time to cash in on him.”
Tough
This is a pretty tough situation all around for Leeds to manage as Gnonto does have undoubted quality, but he currently finds himself out of the starting lineup.
The forward has made just one start since injuring his ankle against Hull in September, meaning he’s had to settle for brief cameos off the bench over the past couple of months.
He hasn’t done anywhere near enough in those appearances to force his way into Daniel Farke’s thinking, with his only goal of the campaign coming against Ipswich back in August.
The Whites do find themselves in a strange position in the table after the convincing 4-0 victory over the Tractor Boys on Saturday still leaves them seven points behind their promotion rivals.
Gnonto is likely to push for a move away from Elland Road again in the January transfer window, so it’ll depend on what offers come in for him and how important the club believe he could be in the second half of the season.
In other Leeds United news, Georginio Rutter went wild live on Sky Sports after what he heard about the Ipswich game.