I WILL NOT PLAY AGAIN:Leeds United key player has decided to quit due to….

I WILL NOT PLAY AGAIN:Leeds United key player has decided to quit due to….

Leeds United managed to bring in eight players during the summer window. They concluded their business with deals for Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt, bolstering their options in midfield and full-back respectively.

However, these eight deals were topped off by news on Saturday morning that the Whites had secured a new four-year deal for Gnonto.

 

Gnonto numbers justify deal

Forward Gnonto arrived at Elland Road at the start of September 2022. He cost Leeds United a reported £3.8m from FC Zurich, signing as a top talent for both the present and the years to come.

The Italian international’s potential was evident in his first season with the Whites. That Premier League campaign saw him feature 24 times, scoring two goals and creating four assists.

Relegation followed and it was in Leeds’ 2023/24 Championship campaign that Gnonto developed that potential and promise. In 36 Championship appearances, the affable Gnonto scored eight goals and registered two assists.

 

This season has seen him feature in all four games with a single goal to his name, coming in the crazy 3-3 draw against Portsmouth on the opening day.

 

Against Sheffield Wednesday, Gnonto was given more of a free-roaming role rather than being tied down to a left-wing slot. In that game, the young Italian showed just what a threat he can be for opposition defences.

Leeds United getting Gnonto to sign a new four-year deal at Elland Road is fantastic business. It is the cherry on top of a decent yet turbulent summer transfer window for the Championship club.

 

Such is Gnonto’s potential that Premier League clubs have been sniffing around for a while now. Indeed, Daniel Farke’s side rejected a £23m bid from Everton earlier this summer. The Merseysiders have been long-term admirers but once again, they failed in their bids to tempt him to Goodison Park.

 

leeds united, Leeds United struck deal of the summer with 20-year-old despite £30.8m transfer expenditure: Opinion

Image courtesy of: ED SYKES/REUTERS.

Just knocking back the Toffees’ bid shows a level of ambition and resolve from Leeds, but getting Gnonto to sit down and agree to an extended deal even more so.