Sean Dyche has masterminded a turnaround in Everton’s fortunes this season, having narrowly stayed in the Premier League over the last two seasons.
Even in the midst of a frightening ten-point deduction, the Toffees rose from the ashes and have picked up four straight wins in the league.
The Merseyside club are now seven points clear of the relegation zone already and, without punishment for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations, would have been sitting inside the top ten, above Chelsea, despite the London club spending over £1b since Todd Boehly took over control of the club eighteen months ago.
However, Everton can’t afford to rest on their laurels and Dyche has already started looking towards the transfer window to strengthen the squad ahead of the second half of the campaign.
Everton transfer news – Wilfried Gnonto
According to a report from Football Insider, Championship outfit Leeds United are willing to allow wantaway attacker Wilfried Gnonto to leave when the January transfer window opens in the new year.
The Italy international handed in a transfer request during the summer after the Peacocks were relegated from the Premier League in the hopes of returning to the top flight. Several clubs were said to be interested in signing Gnonto, including Everton.
The Toffees reportedly submitted numerous bids to Leeds for the Italian but all offers were swiftly rejected by the recently relegated side. One of these bids was even said to be worth a whopping £25m, but again, the Whites were refusing to let the former Zurich man leave.
However, Leeds have had an excellent first half of the campaign in England’s second tier and are firing on all fronts, with four players recording nine or more goal contributions in all competitions under manager Daniel Farke this term.
Furthermore, it was reported by Turkish outlet Fanatik that the Elland Road outfit were keeping tabs on Galatasaray star Kerem Akturkoglu ahead of the winter market which could be a sign that the club have agreed to let Gnonto go over the coming weeks.
Wilfried Gnonto’s stats this season
In the previous campaign, despite the side being relegated from the top flight, only five Leeds players registered more goal contributions than Gnonto with six in total in all competitions, including two goals and four assists.
It looked as though Gnonto would fulfil the potential that he showed during his time at Inter Milan, with football scout Jacek Kulig admitting that the Nerazzurri were losing a “real diamond” when the youngster left.
It was his first season in English football, having moved to Elland Road from Zurich for £3.8m in 2022, but his return was solid for a team that was in turmoil on the pitch. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville even described Gnonto as “mature” for his age after Leeds suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Aston Villa back in January.
“To see someone so mature, so young is very unusual in that position.
“Sometimes you see potential and talent but watching him so closely, his understanding of where to be, his choice of pass, when to run with it, his awareness of teammates, really good honestly.”
Nevertheless, despite Leeds’ reluctance to allow him to leave during the summer, the forward has seen very limited game-time on the pitch, playing for just 671 minutes in total.
Additionally, in his 17 appearances, Gnonto has found the net merely once, combining this single goal with one assist. Overall, the winger has been nowhere near as potent as his teammates who have all led the line for Leeds this season.
Now, the 20-year-old’s time in Yorkshire could be coming to an end within a matter of weeks and Everton should be ready to snap him up before any other suitors get their hands on him.
Arnaut Danjuma’s stats this season
One of the benefits Everton would get from signing Gnonto is his versatility. Throughout his professional career so far, the Italian has played all over the frontline, from being a striker to a winger on both sides and he has even operated as a number ten at times.
This would offer a great rotation option for Dyche for the likes of Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil who have been run into the ground a little this season, particularly considering the drop-off in quality of their backup choices, notably Arnaut Danjuma.
After an unsuccessful spell with Tottenham Hotspur last season, Villarreal agreed to send Arnaut Danjuma out on loan to Goodison Park for the whole campaign. Unfortunately, for the Dutchman, his time in Merseyside hasn’t gone much better.
Danjuma has played merely 386 minutes of Premier League football this term and has started only three matches for the Toffees in England’s top tier, although he has still found the net twice.
Nevertheless, while Danjuma has scored one more goal than Gnonto this season, the latter is still outperforming the Everton loanee in a number of key attacking metrics.
This could be a very astute signing by Everton if Dyche can help Gnonto return to being the player who recorded 22 goal contributions across two seasons with Zurich, ensuring that the Toffees could secure a more long-term attacking option, instead of the on-loan Danjuma.
