Leeds United shouldn’t let Victor Orta steal Willy Gnonto
Willy Gnonto is in great form for Leeds United and is a prized asset, and one
which the club should look to retain amid interest from Victor Orta.
Willy Gnonto’s recent stellar form has caught the eye of Sevilla, but Leeds must keep hold of the young winger.
Gnonto’s resurgence coincided with Dan James’ injury, proving his value to the
team with six goals or assists in seven games.
Despite interest from Sevilla, a permanent deal is unlikely due to his
low valuation and Leeds’ financial position.
There were plenty of rumours and speculation surrounding the future of
Leeds United winger Willy Gnonto during the summer transfer window, but
that looks to be a thing of the past with the 20-year-old hitting form at the right time for Daniel Farke.
It’s been claimed that Sevilla are weighing up a move for the forward in
the upcoming window, with Victor Orta, who played a part in bringing Gnonto to
West Yorkshire in 2022, now a key transfer figure at the Spanish side.
The former Europa League winners are very keen on him, according to reports
from TEAMtalk. Spanish outlet Vamos Mi Sevilla have also said that Sevilla’s
Sporting Director, Victor Orta, who used to be the Director of Football at Leeds, is “obsessed” with signing Gnonto.
Although Gnonto didn’t start regularly for the Whites last season, he was often
an exciting option from the bench when given a chance to prove himself. The
forward notched four goals and collected a further four assists from 28
games in his debut season in the Premier League.
However, his involvement has not increased this season in the way many
perhaps expected it to, despite Leeds’ relegation, and he’s had to settle for a
place on the bench for the most part – especially with both Crysencio
Summerville and Dan James in blistering form of late.
The winger even wanted to leave, and handed in a transfer request, but after
positive talks with Daniel Farke and the club’s hierarchy, he remained with
Leeds, and has now started to rediscover his best form
Gnonto’s best form for Leeds
Gnonto began the season as a starting player for Leeds, but an ankle injury
allowed James to steal and retain the right-wing starting berth. During his first
seven appearances of the season, Gnonto scored once and assisted once.
However, he was then used less frequently as a starter, or struggled on t
he right when handed a rare start, with the Italian international going 17 games
without registering a single meaningful contribution, with many Leeds fans
questioning why the club rejected bids from Everton for the winger, rather than cashing in.
Sky Sports revealed that Everton actually made four offers for Gnonto,
which began at around £15 million but slowly rose to a figure closer to £25 million inclusive of add-ons.
Gnonto has firmly put that bad form behind him, though, and been much
improved since an adductor strain forced James out of action at the back
end of January. And, despite the Welshman’s return to fitness, Gnonto has
arguably been the team’s most in-form player of late and proved a major point to Farke.
He has scored or assisted six times in the last seven games, including six starts
within that, and is rightly keeping James out of the team for now.
Sevilla/Gnonto deal makes little sense for Leeds
That form highlights the need to hang onto Gnonto, irrespective of which
league Leeds find themselves in this August. If Leeds go up, then they have a
young asset who will only improve both in quality terms and valuation terms as he develops.
If Leeds miss out on promotion back to the top-flight, then the Italian is a player
worth keeping around to bounce back at the second time of asking, and his role
could be of greater significance, with Crysencio Summerville almost certain to leave in that scenario.
Gnonto on the left, with James on the right would almost certainly be the
situation out wide, should the Whites miss out on promotion. That allows for
Gnonto to operate as an inside forward in the half-spaces much like Summerville is doing now
The deal with Sevilla would also have its complexities, which would not suit
Leeds. The Italian is reportedly now valued at as low as €16 million (£13.7
million), which is a price that the Spanish side would struggle to pay. The
club’s climbing debts reached €90 million (£77 million) in the summer, and
every player in the squad was considered to be transferable.
A permanent transfer is also only considered to be possible if the Whites
don’t make it back to the Premier League. If they do get back there, then
Sevilla would have to try and pursue a loan move for Gnonto.
His stock may have taken a hit this season, but a few more months of good
form would see that valuation skyrocket back to a figure closer to the £25 million
Leeds knocked back in the summer. The Whites are currently well protected with
regard to Gnonto, and have no need to loan him away, as he is under contract at Elland Road until 2027 as well.
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