Leeds United have ‘made it clear’ that they won’t sell Wilfried Gnonto.
That’s according to Daniel Farke, who addressed Everton’s interest in the winger and claimed that the club’s stance on his future hadn’t changed after he was removed from first team training.
Gnonto was heavily linked with an immediate move back to the Premier League after the Whites were relegated on the final day of the 2022-23 season.
The Toffees have held a long-standing interest in Gnonto but initially looked to be struggling to persuade Gnonto to move to Merseyside.
However, the 19-year-old has now made himself unavailable to Leeds United as he looks to force through a move to Goodison Park.
Everton have reportedly already had two bids rejected for the forward but will have to dramatically increase their offer if they are to land Gnonto, while Farke believes the club will refuse to sell him at all.
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Leeds United have already sent Jack Harrison on loan to Everton, while they also face losing both Helder Costa and Luis Sinisterra from their attacking ranks. Farke’s side are eager to keep some of their key players and Gnonto’s departure is made harder by the absence of an exit clause.
A number of Whites’ players had a relegation clause in their contract, which subsequently allowed Harrison to complete the switch to Everton. However, Gnonto doesn’t have one and so is struggling to claw his way back to the top flight.
Leeds United will not sell Wilfried Gnonto
Speaking ahead of Leeds United’s Championship meeting with West Brom on Friday, Daniel Farke said: “There are many questions and it would take too long to speak at length.
“With Willy we’ve spoken at length and what I think is important to say is that Helder Costa, Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra are training separate from the group. They have individual training in order to stay fit.
“They’ve been moved out of the dressing room for different reason’s we’ve spoken at length about the situation with Willy.
“With Helder Costa everything is more relaxed. It’s his and our wish that there will be a solution and it’s professional. With Luis Sinisterra it’s a different situation.
“There is no exit clause and we’ve made it clear that we won’t sell Willy. With Luis it’s different, he has an exit clause and there were some open question marks.
“Until everything is sorted from a legal point of view, he won’t train with the group as he can’t focus on training. It seems it’ll be sorted quickly. All these three players were training separately.”