da dobrowin： Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto is accumulating interest in his services from clubs across Italy alongside Premier League outfit Aston Villa, according to journalist Dean Jones.
Which clubs are keen on signing Wilfried Gnonto this summer?
da wazamba： According to journalist Alessio Lento, Gnonto is being sought after by Unai Emery's Aston Villa alongside Everton, as he stated on Twitter: "Future in Premier League for the National of Mancini, Wilfried Gnonto : Everton insists, but Aston Villa of Emery has no intention of letting go. It's a hot hour."
Calciomercato claim that a move for Gnonto is being explored by Serie A sides including Inter Milan, AC Milan and Fiorentina, though his reported £17.1 million price tag is deemed as excessive by keen parties.
Leeds United will either need to lower the price for Gnonto or explore the possibility of letting him go out on a loan deal, which is a policy they have operated when sanctioning the exits of Brenden Aaronson and Robin Koch.
Sport Italia via The Sun previously indicated that Gnonto was 'very close' to joining Everton in a transfer worth in the region of £19 million and detailed that Manchester United and Arsenal had also expressed attraction towards his abilities, though no such finalisation of any agreement has taken place.
FootballTransfers have put forward information to suggest that Gnonto features on a three-man shortlist at Goodison Park beside free agent Moussa Dembele and Leicester City veteran Jamie Vardy as Sean Dyche looks to strengthen his options in the final third.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones has signalled that Aston Villa and Serie A clubs are indeed open to adding Gnonto to their ranks.
Jones said: "I know that things fell apart in the end, but it would be a shame for the Premier League to lose him completely. There are teams in Italy that are keeping a little bit of a closer eye on the Gnonto situation right now, but Villa are having a strong push in this transfer window and a player like that would be really exciting."
Will Leeds United be able to keep hold of Wilfried Gnonto?
Stranger things have happened; however, it is hard to imagine that a fully fledged Italy international at Gnonto's age would be willing to drop down to the Sky Bet Championship to continue his career development.
Last term, Gnonto made a decent impact in his debut campaign at Elland Road, registering four goals and four assists in 28 appearances in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
The £20k-a-week ace has also excelled in comparison to his positional peers across Europe's top five leagues regarding progressive carries, completing 4.39 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days, putting him in the top 20% for this metric, as per FBRef.
Cited by The Daily Mail, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville gave Gnonto some high praise in the aftermath of his performance in Leeds United's 2-1 loss to Aston Villa back in January, stating: "Sometimes you see potential and talent but watching him so closely, his understanding of where to be, his choice of pass, when to run with it, his awareness of teammates, really good honestly."
Gnonto has a bright future ahead of him and it looks like Leeds United will have a thankless task on their hands to try and keep him at Elland Road.