"Some of the best business" - Leeds United lauded for "massive" Willy Gnonto resolution | OneFootball

Leeds United may have lost plenty of talent across the summer, but they did manage to retain Willy Gnonto

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leeds United have been lauded for resisting offers for Willy Gnonto and tying him down to a fresh contract amid yet another squad exodus.

Daniel Farke saw the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, Georginio Rutter and others all depart Elland Road at various stages of the summer.

Gnonto, who was touted to leave last summer, had been the subject of a reported £23m bid from Everton but Leeds were unwilling to sanction a departure given the magnitude of exits from the club.

Following the conclusion of the window, Leeds acted quickly to ensure Gnonto's long-term commitment to the club by agreeing terms on a fresh four-year deal, which will keep him in West Yorkshire until 2028 and, crucially, is not believed to include a potential exit clause either.

Leeds United backed for Willy Gnonto transfer stance

There were many departures from Leeds this summer but Gnonto was not one and they have been commended for keeping him at the club by Football League World's resident Whites pundit Kris Smith, who had worried that the Italian winger was going to leave.

"After seeing Crysencio Summerville leave for West Ham in August, it did really worry me that his best friend and partner in crime Willy Gnonto would follow him out the door, given that the two were inseparable ever since Gnonto signed for us," Kris explained to Football League World.

"Just from a footballing perspective, I do think Gnonto has the talent to play in the Premier League. He showed when we got relegated that he's more than good enough to already play in the Premier League and the potential ceiling he has is even higher than that.

"To me, I doubt Everton are the only club that are ready to test us on that, given that they are the only [reported] team to make a bid. I think everyone else knows how good he is but having kept hold of him, I'm already surprised at how well we've done there.

"But tying him down to a new deal is great. It's some of the best business we could've done since then, knowing that he's only going to be worth a much larger fee after this season is done - especially with how he has started already.

"For me, keeping him is massive given that he's already showing he's worth too much to our season to consider letting go and him staying put is great."

Willy Gnonto faces a significant season at Leeds United

Gnonto was inconsistent at times last season, scoring eight goals in the league, but his talent remains in little doubt and that is exactly why he will now be tasked with softening the blow of Summerville's departure in particular.

Leeds have signed both Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon as additional - and exciting - wide options, although they clearly have a lot of trust in Gnonto as evidenced by the stance they have taken over recent months.

Still only 20 years of age, Gnonto has already earned 13 caps at senior international level for Italy and is surely right up there among the most devastating attackers in the Championship when operating at full throttle, so he will need to repay Leeds' faith and there is no reason why he will fail to do that.