Willy Gnonto has finally opened up on the period of his Leeds United career where he handed in a transfer request.
Having started Leeds‘ opening day of the season draw with Cardiff City, it had looked as though Gnonto would be one of the players happy to stick around in the Championship.
However, just a matter of days later Gnonto had informed Daniel Farke and Leeds’ hierarchy that he wanted a move to Everton, which saw him refuse to play in matches against Shrewsbury Town, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion.
The 20-year-old was then instructed to train alone by Farke and the writing looked like it was on the wall, but Leeds refused to renege on their stance he was not for sale.
49ers Enterprises rejected a number of bids from Everton and in the end, Gnonto apologised and was reintroduced back into the fold by Farke.
Gnonto names four Leeds players who have helped him so much this season
It certainly took some time for Gnonto to properly endear himself to the fans again as he struggled for form and starts during the final few months of 2023.
He finally got his chance to have a consistent run of starts in early February and has not looked back since, scoring seven goals in Leeds’ last 15 league matches.
Following the summer events, Gnonto has since cut all ties with the agent who was guiding him almost 12 months ago, a clear sign he has put all those antics behind him.
At the time, Ben Parker also thought it was important that Leeds’ leadership group spoke to him behind-the-scenes. Speaking in an interview with Leeds Live, Gnonto has seemingly confirmed that to have happened.
On top of the senior figures in Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas, Gnonto revealed that both Crysencio Summerville and Glen Kamara – someone who actually arrived after his transfer request – have been massive helps off the field in getting him back on track.
He said: “Everyone has had chances. At one point, I probably feel like I needed someone to just come and be honest. When we speak about the different people, the coach, for example, Stuart Dallas and Coops (Liam Cooper) and Cree [Summerville], Glen [Kamara], so many players came to me and they actually helped me a lot.
“I feel like in my confidence, you can see [it] because I’m quite confident as a person, but you have different moments throughout the season. And at different moments when I didn’t feel that confidence, I’m really grateful for everyone in this team. I just want to achieve our goal and keep going and see what’s going to happen in the future.”
Gnonto comments show Dallas and Cooper will be missed
Both Dallas and Cooper look as though they will be bringing their time at Leeds to an end this summer, and their leadership will be a big miss.
Though Dallas – who has already confirmed his retirement – has not played in over two years, clearly he is still a huge figure behind-the-scenes.
Cooper has also had to take a backseat in terms of his on the field involvement this season, in what is set to be his 10th and final year at Elland Road.
Regardless of the outcome in Sunday’s play-off final, Leeds will need to replace that sort of experience in the dressing room for next season.