Leeds’ Willy Gnonto stand-off: State of play, why he wants to leave, could he be reintegrated? - The Athletic 21/8/23
By Phil Hay
A cynic would say that in the stand-off between Willy Gnonto
and Leeds United, some of the timing has looked less than accidental.
It was 24 hours before Leeds’ game at Birmingham City, with
the team bus about to leave the training ground, when Gnonto told Daniel Farke
he was adamant about leaving the club and would not make the trip to St
Andrew’s. It was 90 minutes before kick-off against West Bromwich Albion on
Friday when his restlessness manifested itself in a formal written transfer
request. If maximum disruption was not intentional, it threatened that effect
regardless.
Attention on Gnonto’s future has been building for a
fortnight and an official demand to quit Elland Road was a fresh test of Leeds’
determination to dig their heels in and prevent the winger from getting his
way. But the reaction of their crowd to him was a warning to the club that any
plans to retain, reset and reintegrate Gnonto would be fraught with difficulty,
leaving their board between a rock and a hard place. The ownership at Leeds do
not want to be dictated to by Gnonto, but nor can they afford to cut off their
nose to spite their face.
The transfer deadline is less than two weeks away and Gnonto
and Leeds are entrenched: Gnonto seemingly insistent on finding a way out of
Leeds while the club tell him at every turn that he will not be sold. So where
is this going and how is the saga likely to end? And will Leeds, when it comes
to the crunch, feel compelled to take the money and run?
What is the state of play?
Gnonto has not checked out fully in the sense he is still in
Leeds and still training at Thorp Arch, but he has been working in isolation
since refusing to travel to Birmingham on August 11.
Leeds’ head coach, Daniel Farke, was solely responsible for
sidelining him from first-team sessions, with the full support of the club’s
board. Gnonto is using a separate changing room to the senior squad and has
seen his schedule set for times when the main group are not present. The same
is true of Luis Sinisterra amid a separate dispute over the terms of the
Colombian’s contract.
Gnonto’s desire to move elsewhere has seen him miss United’s
last three games, the first a Carabao Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town. While
Leeds and Farke showed him some understanding after the Shrewsbury game,
allowing him to continue participating in full training for the next 48 hours
and offering him a chance to clear his head, his refusal to go to Birmingham
was a different matter. Having initially said very little about his situation, the
club promptly issued a statement explaining Gnonto’s withdrawal. Farke decided
at that point that Gnonto could no longer be involved in his day-to-day plans.
As yet, Leeds made no further comment nor addressed Friday’s
transfer request publicly, but news of the request spread before kick-off
against West Brom and the crowd at Elland Road were unforgiving in their
criticism of him. However much heat Leeds have taken for the way the summer has
gone as a whole, it is obvious to everyone — Gnonto included — whose side the
fanbase are taking in this dispute. A previously popular footballer is now the
target of ire.
There is frustration within United’s hierarchy with the way
Gnonto and his camp have handled the past couple of weeks, not least over
things like the timing of his formal transfer request on the night of a match.
Farke’s history as a coach made it highly likely that he would respond by
ostracising Gnonto from his squad. In the past, the German has shown near zero
tolerance for anyone trying to force their way out of a club.
Why does Gnonto want to leave?
When Leeds signed him from FC Zurich last summer, Gnonto was
an 18-year-old forward with a small profile in Europe — despite the fact he was
in the process of breaking into the Italy squad at the time. A big part of the
reason Leeds were able to pick him up for such a low fee, less than £5million
($6.4m), was because firm interest in him was minimal.
As a result, Gnonto is nothing like the highest earner at
Elland Road and as has been widely reported, Leeds’ squad were subject to major
wage reductions in the wake of relegation last season. He remains on his
original contract and it is evident a move to a Premier League side like
Everton would earn him a substantial rise in salary.
But some of his motivation for wanting to depart revolves
around his international prospects. Gnonto has been under the impression that
to have the best chance of making Italy’s squad for next summer’s European
Championship, he needs to be turning out in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Championship football might compromise his prospects, although the landscape in
Italy is changing significantly. Roberto Mancini, the coach who gave Gnonto his
international debut, resigned as Italy boss 10 days ago.
Leeds initially hoped that they would be able to talk an
unhappy Gnonto round quickly; that through a bit of hasty mediation and
diplomacy, they would be able to put the controversy around him down to youth
and inexperience. But the conscious decision to follow up a refusal to travel
with a written transfer request made the point that backing out of the match at
St Andrew’s was no momentary wobble. Friday’s events have intensified the doubt
about whether the club can stick to their guns and insist that he stays put.
What is Leeds United’s stance?
Gnonto’s future was always an elephant in the room this
summer — the question of whether the combination of his better performances in
the Premier League and Leeds’ relegation would turn his head to other
opportunities — but it did not become an active topic of conversation at Elland
Road until after their first game of the season against Cardiff City.
Gnonto started that match and played well, but in the days
that followed, he began to intimate his desire to look at his options. Straight
away, United made it clear they had no intention of losing him, leading Gnonto
to miss the Shrewsbury tie due to questions about his mindset. Leeds’ message
was forcefully reiterated for a second time after he pulled out of their defeat
at Birmingham City and their stance is yet to soften.
For one thing, the strongest interest in Gnonto has come
from Everton but none of their offers have been high enough to tempt Leeds’
hierarchy to take the money. The largest bid yet was a total package worth
£25million, a big increase on the fee Leeds paid to Zurich for him but not a
sum they see as market value. United took note of Romeo Lavia leaving
Southampton for Chelsea for an initial £53million, a year after he switched to
the south coast from Manchester City. While Lavia started more games in the
Premier League than Gnonto, he has a total of 29 top-flight appearances to
Gnonto’s 25, Gnonto has the added credentials of being a full Italy
international.
Moreover, Leeds do not want Gnonto to set a precedent of
under-contract footballers getting what they want irrespective of the club’s
wishes. It looks too much like the tail wagging the dog. The fact Gnonto has no
release clause in his deal means he is not entitled to a transfer before next
week’s deadline. And while Leeds have been powerless to prevent so many of the
exits seen at Elland Road since May, the consequence of exit provisions
included in other deals, Gnonto is a different case entirely. The club’s new ownership
do not want to be seen to be bullied in a scenario where the power is
technically theirs.
What is clear to them, though, is that the faltering
relationship between Gnonto and their crowd is complicating matters. There were
chants against him from the away end at Birmingham and more again at home to
West Brom on Friday, all of it symptomatic of bridges being burned. People are
intolerant of these situations at the best of times but Leeds are regrouping
after two draining campaigns and a return to the EFL, not to mention a summer
in which the inclination of players to walk away from the mess has been rife.
So while the club regard Gnonto as a major asset, there is
no denying this has become more and more politically awkward. And it was
worrying yesterday to see criticism of him cross the lining by descending into
racist abuse on social media. Leeds still owe it to him to fight against
bigotry like that, however much they are at odds contractually. And they are
very aware that at 19, he is still a young man.
How serious is Everton’s interest?
Gnonto was linked with Atalanta and Roma over the weekend,
but so far, the serious approaches for him have come from Goodison Park.
Everton rate Gnonto highly and he has been a target for them all summer, but
they are not awash with cash and Leeds have been resistant to their offers.
Goodison Park offers Gnonto Premier League football, for
this season at least, but Everton have been in the business of staving off
relegation for a while now and having lost their first game of the season
against Fulham, they were trounced by Aston Villa on Sunday, punished for a
performance minus any redeeming features. That early form casts Everton as an
odd move for Gnonto, with a high chance he would be pitching himself into another
relegation battle.
Were Leeds minded to think Gnonto would ultimately leave for
Merseyside, they might have quietly hinted to Everton what sort of valuation
they would be willing to consider. But they have given Everton no
encouragement, rejecting bids out of hand. It is far from clear if Everton have
the money to go further or far enough to force the issue.
What chance of Farke reintegrating Gnonto?
Farke is a hard-liner when it comes to player discipline and
reputations don’t seem to make much difference to his principles. It is no
secret that at Norwich City, both Todd Cantwell and Emi Buendia — key members
of the Farke era at Carrow Road — spent time training alone after transfer
speculation left him questioning their professionalism and attitude.
It is also well known that in the end, both Cantwell and
Buendia returned to the fold and played a major part in Norwich’s promotion
that same season. Farke might have been a disciplinarian, but he was not in the
business of cutting off his nose to spite his face. Over time, the data showed
that Cantwell and Buendia were working hard and genuinely putting the effort
in. The result was an olive branch from the German.
On that basis, it is fair to assume there are circumstances
in which Farke would be willing to do the same with Gnonto. And the idea of
finding a way to mend the relationship with Gnonto, thereby giving Farke use of
him again, is an active part of discussions at Elland Road. His talent is worth
the effort but it cannot happen for as long as the winger maintains his stance
of wanting out and swerving games. And it could only happen with Farke’s
blessing.
Leeds and Farke would also have to contend with the reality
of a crowd who have not taken Gnonto’s actions lightly. Suffice it to say, any
redemption arc would have to be skilfully managed and would surely require
contrition on the part of the winger. But stranger things have happened.
How will this end?
The answer to that in this window depends largely on who
bids what before the deadline passes. Leeds have been resolute in refusing to
sell Gnonto and they know how it will look if they give in to a low-ball
approach as the September 1 cut-off draws near. Moreover, they have not given
up on the possibility that, despite everything, he stays and resets.
At the same time, Gnonto’s value has an upper limit. There
is a price at which it makes no sense to keep an unhappy player against his will
and, from a PR perspective, Leeds would not be damaged by being seen to make
good money on a footballer who is trying to get himself out of the club.
