Leeds United: Willy Gnonto transfer twist deals apparent blow to Everton | OneFootball

The Toffees have held a long-term interest in the Italian winger.

Leeds United's chances of keeping Wilfried Gnonto this summer have been boosted as Everton's hopes of sealing a deal for him look slim.

Getting the Italian from Elland Road to Goodison Park is going to be a tough transfer to do, according to iSport. They have reported that it could be a tricky deal for the Toffees to do.

This is the second summer in a row where they have been linked with Gnonto. Everton had bids worth up to £25 million turned down by Leeds last summer for the 20-year-old, who essentially went on strike to try and force his way out of the club and back to the top flight.

In the end, he was held to the terms he agreed when he signed his contract with the club, which schedules him to stay with the Whites until the summer of 2027.

Leeds' Wilfried Gnonto transfer boost

Everton have a genuine interest in Gnonto, as per Fabrizio Romano, and the player is said to be keen on the move, but their chances of being able to secure his services this summer aren't the best, as it's considered to not be an easy deal to do, as per iSport.

TEAMtalk previously stated that the Toffees felt they were in a good position to be able to land the winger this summer, and hoped that they'd be able to beat out the likes of Newcastle United, who are also said to be in the race for the Italian.

Aston Villa are another club that have been linked with the Leeds man. However, they are reportedly set to end their interest in him, as they are on the verge of signing a different Championship wideman: Jaden Philogene.

Despite all of this interest in Gnonto, and his apparent willingness to leave Elland Road, those at the club don't feel under pressure to offload him.

The sale of Archie Gray to Spurs made Leeds' chances of keeping the 20-year-old and Crysencio Summerville much better, as they no longer had to sell some of their players for financial reasons.

The Yorkshire Evening Post has said that they aren't actively looking to move either of the pair on from the club, and that any deal for Gnonto or Summerville will be done on their terms. Planet Sport stated that a deal worth £22 million would be enough to get Leeds to let go of Gnonto.

He played 36 games in the league for Daniel Farke last season, only 19 of which were from the start, and contributed 10 combined goals and assists.

Leeds should be open to cashing in on Gnonto

The ultimate goal for Farke and his players in the upcoming campaign is to do what they failed to do last time out: win promotion. Sounds simple enough in writing, but what they went through last term proved it to be a much more difficult thing to accomplish in reality.

Having better players will, of course, help them to hit their targets. Gnonto has the ability to be one of the best players in the second division, but his Dutch counterpart, who won the league's Player of the Season award, was much more vital to Leeds' success in the 2023/24 season.