Angus Kinear has revealed how Leeds United turned down various offers for players during the summer that any other Championship team would have had to accept.
Kinnear was taking part in his annual Square Ball interview, during which he was probed on a variety of themes at Elland Road following a tumultuous summer.
The Leeds manager went into detail about the club’s transfer plan during the most recent window, including how they were turned down by Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia.
According to Kinnear, Manchester City’s James McAtee and Liverpool’s Fabio Carvalho were also on the list, but the players that left Leeds were the most pressing issue.
Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter all left for higher-paying jobs, but Kinnear believes there could have been more.
Kinnear explains what Leeds did with Wilfried Gnonto.
It is tough for Leeds fans to look at the window favorably in terms of who was kept, because no one could have predicted that three would have to leave.
Leeds made the most money in world football this summer, with Kinnear announcing on the Square Ball Podcast that two major players were set to go.
However, Kinnear has argued that more of their top players could have easily followed Gray, Summerville, and Rutter out of Elland Road.
He claims Leeds rejected offers for Wilfried Gnonto that no other club at this level could have afforded. In early August, there were reports that Everton’s £23 million proposal had been rejected.
He stated, “The 49ers’ financial commitment is enormous, and it is helping us maintain many of the guys we have retained. We declined bids for Willy Gnonto that any other Championship club would have readily accepted.”
Kinnear says Leeds also turned down other offers
According to Kinnear, Gnonto was not the only player Leeds rejected bids for as he claimed as many as four or five others were also the subject of interest.
He explicitly name listed Illan Meslier, Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu as individuals where offers in excess of £10 million arrived for.
He said: “We turned down offers for four or five other players all in excess of £10 million, and again most other Championship clubs would’ve been forced into accepting. Illan Meslier, Pascal Struijk, and Ethan Ampadu aren’t Championship players.
“All of those players were retained because of the way the 49ers have structured their investment with multiple stakeholders to create an environment where we sustain the highest wage bill I think the Championship has ever seen.”
