Leeds ‘Desperate’ For Gnonto And Summerville to Commit Futures

Highlights

• Leeds United hope to secure the futures of Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville at Elland Road.
• The duo have established themselves as key cogs in the Whites’ promotion push from the Championship in recent weeks.
• Transfer insider Dean Jones suggests Leeds will look to sign players such as Sunderland’s Jack Clarke if they reach the Premier League.

Leeds United will be desperate to see Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto commit to their future at Elland Road, as transfer insider Dean Jones suggests Sunderland winger Jack Clarke is the profile of player they could target this summer.

Head coach Daniel Farke has been tasked with sealing the Whites’ immediate return to the Premier League, having been relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Leeds are well in the race for automatic promotion in the Championship and hope they can see the job through as they look to seal their place in the promised land next term. Gnonto and Summerville have endured contrasting seasons in Yorkshire, but the duo hope to contribute significantly to the club’s potential promotion campaign.

Gnonto and Summerville’s contrasting seasons at Leeds

Returning to the Championship for the start of the 2023/24 season, Leeds were rocked by one of the transfer sagas of the summer when Gnonto pushed for a move to Everton. In the late stages of the 2023 summer market, the 20-year-old submitted a written transfer request after the Toffees had seen four bids rejected for the winger, the latest of which totalled £25m. A move never came to fruition, and Gnonto would apologise for his actions after asking to be removed from the squad for three consecutive fixtures.

Despite making a positive impression in the Premier League during the 2022/23 season, the Italy international has struggled to hit the ground running in the Championship, scoring one goal in the second tier before February. However, a recent run of form has turned him into one of Farke’s key players, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealing at the end of January that Gnonto was “getting closer” to signing a new deal at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Summerville has been in excellent form for Leeds this term, finding himself as the Championship’s joint-fourth top goalscorer alongside Sunderland’s Clarke. The Dutchman made his breakthrough into the team under Jesse Marsch last season but has continued his progression to establish himself as one of Farke’s key players.

Whilst there seems to be no imminent danger of the reported £35,000 per week duo leaving, Leeds will hope to secure the pair’s future by the summer, especially if promotion to the Premier League is achieved.

Jones hints that Gnonto and Summerville’s futures will depend on Leeds’ ability to secure promotion to the Premier League. The transfer insider also names Sunderland’s Clarke, valued at £20m, as the type of player they could go for if top-flight status is achieved. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“It will depend on what happens with the likes of Summerville and Gnonto once we get to the end of the season. I see another scenario where we’re debating the future of those two players. Leeds will be desperate for them to commit their future to the club again and see this through. This has been a difficult season, and if they can get out of the league, their mission has been accomplished.

“Clarke is the profile of player that they will be looking for if they do get back into the Premier League. The first challenge is getting back to the top flight and then figuring out what’s happening with Summerville and Gnonto and if they can keep those two.”

Leeds transfer news, including Archie Gray links

Leeds’ primary focus will be securing promotion back to the Premier League in the remaining weeks of the 2023/24 season. The Whites spent three consecutive seasons in the top flight before succumbing to relegation, with Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce unable to save the three-time English champions from relegation.

Journalist Ben Jacobs has recently told GIVEMESPORT (25th February) that Leeds midfielder Archie Gray is unlikely to sign for Liverpool this summer, despite some of the Reds hierarchy having strong links to the teenager. The 17-year-old has established himself in Farke’s first-team squad this term and could have a bright future in the game, having come through the Whites’ academy. Jacobs adds that any move for Gray would have to provide a clear pathway to senior football, even if that was to be by means of a loan move elsewhere.

Leeds return to Championship action on 2nd March when they travel to Huddersfield Town in a Yorkshire derby. Stoke City will visit Elland Road on the 5th March before another short trip to Sheffield Wednesday awaits on the 8th.

All statistics according to BBC Sport, Transfermarkt, WhoScored, correct as of 28-02-24.