Everton ‘still working’ on deal after summer efforts – Considered a main target, talks ongoing for weeks
Leeds United and Everton have been negotiating a deal for Wilfried Gnonto’s signing during the January transfer window for weeks.
Journalist Rudy Galetti claims that following the summer drama surrounding the Italian, they are “still working” on an arrangement for him.
In an attempt to bolster their roster, Everton pursued Gnonto during the summer transfer window. However, they were unable to come to a deal with Leeds, who held out for a price that Everton could not afford.
The forward ended up staying at Elland Road and managed to mend bridges after going on strike to try and secure his move away. He’s featured in 30% of minutes this season.
Everton’s interest has not gone away, though, and they are ‘still working’ to get the forward to Goodison Park at some point according to Galetti.
He claims that in order to bolster their assault this month, they “consider him a main target” and have always valued the Italian. As a result, negotiations to reach a consensus have been ongoing with Leeds for some weeks.
It’s questionable if it is feasible, though. Since Everton lacks the money for a long-term contract this month, director of football Kevin Thelwell has made it known that things will probably be quiet.
A loan deal would make sense, but Premier League rules would prevent that. They state that clubs can only register two loan players maximum and under no circumstances can they sign more than one from the same club.
A loan agreement for Gnonto would be impossible on two fronts since Jack Harrison is currently on loan from Leeds and Arnaut Danjuma is already on loan from Villarreal.
Of course, there are other options. As they did with Udinese for striker Beto in the summer, Everton may decide to take Gnonto now and pay for him later.
That would require intricate negotiations with Leeds, though, and considering the strained nature of their rivalry, that seems improbable.
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