After Leeds United was not promoted back to the Premier League, Wilfried Gnonto has expressed his desire to depart the club during the summer transfer window.
After a year in the Championship, the attacker wishes to return to his home country of Italy, according to reports from the Italian daily Calciomercato.
Leeds, who were demoted from the Premier League at the conclusion of the previous campaign, have now missed the opportunity to return right away to the top division of English football.
That’s following their 1-0 loss to Southampton in the Championship play-off final on Sunday, which means the Whites will have to spend another season in the lower division.
That appears to have serious ramifications for Gnonto’s personal future at Leeds United now.
Wilfried Gnonto considering leaving Leeds United
Despite staying at Elland Road after the team was relegated last summer, Gnonto appeared eager to leave the team.
That even caused him to miss a few practices and games at the beginning of the season, and it appears that the player is now seeking for a move once more.
According to this most recent update, Gnonto is “even more convinced” that he should leave Leeds this summer after the team was not promoted to the Premier League.
In an attempt to force his way back into the Italian national squad, the 20-year-old is rumored to have made himself available for a trade and to be eager to return to Italy.
Despite having earned 13 senior international caps, Gnonto was not included in the Azzurri’s preliminary roster for the European Championships in Germany this summer.
The winger’s contract with Leeds currently has three years left on it, which guarantees his stay at Elland Road through the end of the 2026–2027 campaign.
While it’s said that Gnonto’s value has decreased from the €20 million they asked for him last summer, that does allow them room to negotiate any offers that do come in.
Since joining Leeds from FC Zurich back in the summer of 2022, the 20-year-old has made 72 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 13 goals and providing seven assists in that time.
Leeds United may be doing the right thing if they sell Wilfried Gnonto
There could be an argument that those in charge would be doing the right thing by selling Gnonto in the summer transfer window.
The uncertainty surrounding his future was something of an unwelcome distraction for the club at the start of last season.
They will surely want to avoid a repeat of that, in order to give them the best possible chance of making a strong start as they look to push for promotion again in the coming campaign.
It is also worth noting that having missed out on promotion, it does look as though Leeds are going to be under pressure to sell players this summer in order to comply with spending regulations.
Given it appears as though he does not want to be there, it would seem to make sense that Gnonto is one of those to be moved on in order to meet those limits.
While there can be no denying he possesses a great deal of talent and potential, it does feel as though Leeds have not been able to consistently see that from the winger during his time at Elland Road.
As a result, that could help to soften the blow of his departure, and may mean that it would be no surprise to see Gnonto move elsewhere over the course of the summer window.
