Everton transfer for Willy Gnonto collapses amid £40m Leeds United news and ‘alarming’ MSP development
Everton have received a blow in their bid to sign Italian forward Willy Gnonto from Leeds United as the deal looks to have collapsed, according to The Times.
The newspaper reported on its website on 24 August that the Whites are looking for a fee in the region of £40million for the Italy international and that the two sides haven’t been able to agree on a payment schedule as the Toffees are suffering from cash-flow problems.
That comes on the back of the “alarming” news that MSP Sports Capital, who were looking to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Blues, has withdrawn from its negotiations with the club.
There is no doubt that the £40million figure that is being banded about is far too much for Everton to be spending on Gnonto this summer.
The club still need to improve in a few different areas and they really can’t afford to be forking out that much money on one player while operating under a tight transfer budget.
There are also huge question marks around whether a teenager who has played for just one season in the Premier League is really worth that much anyway, even if Leeds feel that he is.
The Championship side have been adamant that they want to keep hold of him during this transfer window and, after he returned to training this week having previously asked to be left out of a couple of their matches, it looks as though he’s likely to stay at Elland Road.
The MSP development will have come as a blow to the Toffees as it means the cash-flow issues are set to remain for a while longer after the New York-based investment firm was expected to pump £150million into the Merseysiders.
That means Sean Dyche will have to continue trying to look for bargains and loan deals as he aims to improve his squad before the window slams shut next week.
