Leeds will sanction a key player for refusing to travel to Birmingham.
If Daniel Farke and Leeds United’s owners, 49ers Enterprises, thought things weren’t going as planned at the start of their Championship season, things have become a whole lot worse.
Farke would have been happy with his team’s comeback against Cardiff City in their opening Championship encounter of the season, though the German may have been concerned by the ease with which they conceded in the first place.
Their second game of the season sees Leeds travel to Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon, but the Elland Road outfit will be without one major player.
According to a tweet from BBC Sport, Willy Gnonto has refused to travel with the squad after Leeds made it clear that the 19-year-old wouldn’t be sold this summer.
The Italian has been the subject of rumoured interest from some Premier League clubs, and the player clearly feels that the English top-flight is where he should be plying his trade rather than in the second tier.
📣 GNONTO NOT FOR SALE
Leeds United issue statement saying they will not sell Willy Gnonto.
The Italy international refuses to travel to Birmingham City.
Club to discipline the 19-year-old attacker.#LUFC #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/BKUW9vsKzM
— BBC Sport West Yorkshire (@BBCWYS) August 11, 2023
Such an attitude doesn’t bode well for the rest of Gnonto’s season, and he will arguably find it hard to ensure a starting spot in the upcoming games.
Farke has a number of plates to be spinning at this stage, and even though the club have slapped a ‘not for sale’ sign on him, with a few weeks left of the window it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them cash in.
