Daniel Farke remained tight-lipped in his press conference on Thursday – as per the club’s YouTube channel – when asked about reports that claimed Willy Gnonto has requested to leave Leeds United.
Gnonto, 19, refused to play for Leeds back in August and missed games against Shrewsbury Town, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City. But he has returned to the fold. However, he is not first choice.
Indeed, quite remarkable given that Gnonto is an Italy international – but also, Dan James and Crysencio Summerville deserve their place in the side, starring of late. Both are scoring, creating plenty of goals.
A report from Italian site TMW state that Gnonto has asked to leave Leeds in January with talks already said to have been staged between his representatives and Lazio. Farke was asked about those reports.
“I’m not tempted to speak much about the individual futures of players. We’ve had these discussions, since I’ve arrived. The feeling right now, since the start of September, there is a relief,” Farke made clear.
“At the beginning of September, I’m not tempted to speak about what will happen in January, or summer. At least, during this period when the window is not open, let’s not talk about futures of these players.
“You could see how much Willy was celebrating when Cree scored even though he was a sub, it shows a lot about his attitude. Let’s ignore all this noise,” the Leeds boss added, in Thursday’s press conference.
Daniel Farke reacts when asked if Willy Gnonto will leave Leeds
The reports suggest that Gnonto is valued at around £20m by Leeds and that Lazio, and Roma, are unwilling to meet that asking price. Certainly, while Gnonto is not playing, that value will be going down.
If an offer in that region comes in January, should Leeds let him go? Perhaps, it will give us some cash to spend in the winter window. But, Gnonto at his best is worth a whole lot more. A tricky decision to make.
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