Willy Gnonto, a winger for Leeds United, was a top target for Everton during August, but the Whites were steadfast in refusing to let the Italian leave for any sum of money.
Leeds’ summer transfer window following their relegation from the Premier League was always going to be determined by which players they were able to keep at Elland Road and which ones went.
How the club would manage interest in Willy Gnonto and Premier League interest, particularly from Goodison Park, was the main topic of conversation throughout August.
Why did Gnonto choose not to join Everton?
Gnonto was most likely going to leave West Yorkshire and join Sean Dyche’s Everton in Merseyside after their £27.5 million proposal was rejected by the team.
Even though Gnonto made a transfer request and refused to play, despite Everton’s best efforts to consummate the transaction, it was clear that the player was not for sale.
He was reinserted into the lineup for Leeds’ 4-3 victory against Ipswich Town in August. Most recently, he played the entire 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday since Everton was unable to sign their man.
While Jack Harrison moved to Goodison on a season-long loan earlier in the transfer window, Everton did manage to swoop for another Leeds attacker. However, Harrison has not yet played because of his ongoing injury recovery.
What is Dyche’s opinion of Gnonto?
Although it’s customary for managers to avoid discussing players who have been rumored to go but haven’t yet joined, Dyche brought up Gnonto following his team’s weekend 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.
According to the Liverpool Echo, when questioned about how close the team came to signing him, he stated:
“We were not sufficiently near to any situation. The reality is that we are where we are because of certain constraints and rules. It is clear that the club has changed from where it was two or three years ago. I’ve always believed that managing reality means managing what you can.
When everyone is healthy and you look at our group, there are still some really strong players here, and there are a number of them. However, the transfer window produces news. That is occasionally ignored. I have faith in both what is present and the players that are here. I believe we have performed significantly better than expected thus far this season.
