Wilfried Gnonto wants to leave Leeds United for Everton, agent was at Finch Farm in April
Wilfried Gnonto wants to leave Leeds to join Everton, with his agent working on a deal since as far back as April according to FootballTransfers.
Writing on their official website (20 July), journalist Jacque Talbot reports that the Italy international has expressed his willingness to move to Merseyside although a fee still needs to be agreed between the clubs.
Leeds have already rejected a £15m bid from the Toffees (Daily Mail, July 16) for winger Gnonto, but the player is keen on the move and his agent was even at their training ground back in April working on a deal.
“Wilfried Gnonto has expressed his willingness to join Everton, with the Merseyside club having put in the groundwork to clinch the Leeds winger since April,” they wrote.
“FootballTransfers revealed Everton’s interest in Gnonto in May and since then talks have continued. A fee still needs to be agreed between the sides after the Toffees’ first bid was rejected.
“We understand the attacker’s representative, Claudio Vigorelli, was at Finch Farm earlier this year when the Goodison outfit were still fighting relegation.”
Pain
The 49ers have made it abundantly clear that Gnonto is one of the players they want to keep at the club this summer above all others.
But it seems quite obvious now that the player is banking on a transfer away and it’s possible that he has been plotting for his exit for a while now.
While Leeds were battling against the drop and Gnonto was on the sidelines with an ankle injury, struggling to get into the team under Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, it seems as though he was looking for a way out of the club.
Everton are obviously struggling financially but they have clearly been given some assurances that the player wants to come and a deal can be done, and now it’s clear that has come from the player’s team and most notably his agent.
How Leeds play this is essential to Daniel Farke’s planning for the new season, because that would be a big gap to fill in the attack. But if the player doesn’t want to be here, our options may well be limited.
In other Leeds news, one linked ace could be set to jet into the UK to seal a £5m transfer in the coming days.