Everton and Fulham have reached a verbal agreement for Demarai Gray which could hand them the green light to pursue Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto.
According to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, Gray is set to make the move to Craven Cottage but will not be officially allowed to leave until a replacement is found.
Leeds winger Gnonto is a player they have targeted heavily so far this summer but to no avail, seeing a £15 million bid rejected last month.
Gnonto remains sceptical of whether a move to Goodison Park would be the next best step in his career, though Gray’s sale could provide Everton with the extra funds needed to meet Leeds’ asking price.
If an agreement was reached on a fee, that would leave Gnonto with a big decision to make despite his reported doubts over joining the Toffees.
Everton could pursue Leeds’ Gnonto after agreeing to sell Gray
Gray is of a similar mould to Gnonto in that he is primarily a left-winger who can also play across different positions in the front line.
In Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence last term, Gray was often tasked with leading the line on his own, with Gnonto also having played centrally at international level for Italy.
At this stage it is unclear what sort of fee Fulham will be paying Everton for Gray, but a figure of £7 million is what has been mentioned over the course of the summer.
Everton have already brought in a left-winger to add to Sean Dyche’s squad in Arnaut Danjuma, but is still keen to strengthen their attacking options after scoring just 34 Premier League goals last season.
Whether they now decide to meet Gnonto’s asking price is another question, who could be called into start Leeds‘ opener against Cardiff City on Sunday if Georginio Rutter and Patrick Bamford are both out.
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