Arsenal must move quickly if they hope to sign Leeds winger Wilfried Gnonto after Juventus made contact for a summer move. The 19-year-old has peaked the interest of several teams following his debut season in the Premier League after signing for Leeds from Zurich for just £3.8million in September 2022.
Leeds' relegation to the Championship has thrown into doubt the future of several stars including Gnonto who has significant interest from his home country. Chelsea and Manchester City, like the Gunners, have also been keeping tabs on his situation as Mikel Arteta attempts to further bolster his squad in preparation for their first Champions League campaign in seven years.
Napoli and Juventus have both shown interest in bringing the teenager back to Italy and now the latter look to have made their move. According to Sport Witness, who quote the print edition of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Juve have made contact with Leeds for Gnonto ahead of the summer transfer window opening on June 14.
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The priorities for Arsenal appear to be away from the forward department, but an opportunity could arise to sign Gnonto in a cut-price deal. Under Jesse Marsch, Gnonto was a regular starter but nor Javi Gracia or Sam Allardyce gave him many starts which saw him feature for just 392 minutes in the final 14 games of the league season.
Despite only paying £3.9million for Gnonto, Leeds are asking for up to nine times that figure with a report by La Gazzetta Dello Sport suggesting the club would accept a €30million (£26.4m) proposal, but ideally want €40m (£35.2m).
Gnonto featured on the left of attack in the majority of Leeds' games this campaign which would make him a suitable back-up option for Gabriel Martinelli. Leandro Trossard's main position has been there but the Belgian can seamlessly transition into being an advanced midfielder or in a lone attacking role which makes him extremely valuable.
With offers from several European heavyweights expected to arrive, Gnonto is unlikely to remain at Elland Road in the second tier. A move back to Italy, after spending eight years in the Inter academy, could be tempting with Juventus in need of an attacking addition after the departure of Angel Di Maria.
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