‘I was told’: Journalist says ‘fantastic’ Leeds player may now actually stay this summer

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Leeds United winger Wilfried Gnonto is now ‘leading towards’ staying at Elland Road this summer.

That is according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, who told GiveMeSport Gnonto’s advisors actually believe a full season in the Championship could be better for his development than a move to Everton at this stage.

He does add, however, that could change if any other big offer arrives for him, with Aston Villa and a host of Serie A clubs having also been linked with him after an impressive debut campaign at Leeds that saw Gary Neville label him as ‘fantastic’ on Sky Sports co-commentary.

Everton earmarked Gnonto as a priority target right at the beginning of the window but look set to be frustrated in their pursuit with Sky Sports also reporting they could end their interest.

The Toffees are now already on the lookout for alternative targets with Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana having been mentioned in the last 24 hours.

Crook says Gnonto now ‘leaning towards’ Leeds stay

Speaking to GiveMeSport yesterday, Crook gave an extremely positive update on the situation for Leeds supporters, with it now looking more and more possible he could do a season in the Championship.

He said: “Well I was told last week that his advisors don’t necessarily think this is the best move for him at this time. If no other offers came in, they’d be leaning towards doing a year in the Championship.

“I think he still has raw potential, and they feel that he can go to the Championship and improve his numbers in terms of goals and assists, and then he might have bigger options than Everton come January. At the moment, I think that’s a difficult deal for Everton to do.”

This is encouraging to hear as there is no doubt that a season of playing and scoring regularly in the Championship could be huge for his development.

Gnonto has the potential to rip up the Championship and a good season for him will either ensure he is playing Premier League football with Leeds next season, or for someone else.

Daniel Farke has so far managed him carefully in pre-season after a busy summer, but once he gets going, he could explode at this level.