Phil Hay says he would be ‘surprised’ if Wilfried Gnonto leaves Leeds United in January unless he pushes for a move.
Gnonto has already been the subject of speculation surrounding his future ahead of the window reopening, predominantly from the Italian press.
However, the 20-year-old laughed off those claims on Instagram earlier this month and on the latest episode of the Square Ball Podcast, Hay says if he gets his ‘head down’, he would be shocked if he departs.
Gnonto was determined to leave Elland Road in the summer after relegation amid interest from Everton, but Leeds held firm in their stance that he was not for sale.
After refusing to play, Gnonto then apologised to both Daniel Farke and Angus Kinnear, with the former suggesting he would not get a second chance, and the latter insisting he is now fully commited.
Gnonto situation becoming draining for Leeds
Hay says if Gnonto was to push again it would be almost certain that he is allowed to leave, but would be surprised if a situation arose.
He said: “It’s hard to tell what’s going on there. One thing is apparent that as the season has gone on, other players have replaced Gnonto as being first choice wingers and essential to the team – Summerville and James nailed on at the moment.
“There will still be some lingering concern about what went on in August and how it played out. I thought Farke handled it really well and did his best to resolve it. But you did always wonder if it was temporary and might come up again.
“You go back to the quote from Farke when he said you can have a second chance, but there won’t be a third. I do wonder if this was to get going again in January, that people might say enough is enough and perhaps it is time to take the money. It will depend on Gnonto, but if he gets his head down, I will be surprised if anything happens.”
Much of the recent speculation is likely to stem from the fact he is not currently a regular starter at Leeds due to the form of Crysencio Summerville and Dan James.
But he has done nothing since the August window to suggest he will push again in January, with the current reports out of his control.
All he can do is continue to work hard to get back in the team so that what happened in the summer can continue to be swept under the carpet.
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