Leeds United could have a tough time keeping hold of one of their star men after one journalist has hinted that he could leave Elland Road in the New Year.
Leeds United updates…
Last weekend, Leeds continued their strong start to the campaign under Daniel Farke by defeating lowly Huddersfield Town 4-1 at Elland Road courtesy of two doubles from Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville. Maintaining their grip on third place in the Championship, the Whites have lost just once in their last five games in the division and are continually resembling a genuine contender to gain promotion from the English second-tier at the first time of asking.
Cited by Leeds Live, Farke signalled his delight at being able to get one over a Yorkshire rival alongside praising his players’ spirit for reacting to their defeat to Stoke City last midweek with a comprehensive victory. He stated: “First of all, I think you could see how much it’s meant to my players today,” a beaming Farke said after the game. Firstly to win the local derby and the second to show reaction to a bit disappointing result at Stoke and we did this in the perfect manner.”
Farke then added: “It was an electrifying first half with some unbelievable offensive work, we were all over them and created so many chances. Was not perfect because of the beginning I also got the feeling, a bit like in last weeks we don’t make enough out of our dominance and creating situations but if you’re 4-0 up at half-time, you can’t complain too much about this.”
Nevertheless, one sour note from the affair has been picked up on by Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth, who has detailed that Leeds star Wilfried Gnonto headed straight down the tunnel upon the full-time whistle against Huddersfield despite featuring as a second-half substitute during the encounter. Now, journalist Dean Jones has given an update on Gnonto and where his future could lie once the January transfer window begins to get underway.
Wilfried Gnonto transfer update
In a conversation with GiveMeSport, Jones has indicated that Gnonto could be one to watch in January after he previously attracted interest during the summer from the Premier League.
“I think they want to try and keep things as settled as they can going into the second half of the season. I mean, the Gnonto one is obviously going to be the most high-profile one to look out for. We all know how close he came to trying to leave the club and wanting to leave the club in the summer window. Quite how much Leeds have managed to convince him otherwise, I guess we’ll find out in January.
“But in terms of the other players that are key to this team, I think we’ll have to wait until this summer because Leeds need the bulk of this squad to stick together for now. They’ve got a big task on their hands to get out of the Championship and having an overhaul halfway through the season probably isn’t going to help.”
Gnonto, who went on strike over the summer, is a talented player who has already gone on to be a full international for Italy at 19, so it will be interesting to see where his future lies when the window opens for business in 2024.