Graham Smyth believes Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto are the two outstanding players most likely to depart Leeds United this summer.
The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist stated on the outlet’s website on June 14 that Dutch winger Summerville, 22, was at the top of the list because no one at the club is “making any noise” about wanting to keep him.
Because he only signed for roughly £1.5 million, his profit margin “will look very, very good when it comes to P&S headroom” if he sells for around £35 million.
According to Smyth, Gnonto, 20, could also go because he intended to do so a year ago, and after an up-and-down season, he will most likely want to follow his pal out of Elland Road to play in the Premier League or Serie A and rejoin the Italy team.
Other than the two young attackers, he said: “Beyond those two I’m not sure I’d be backing any really major or damaging exits and I think that the sale of those two would alleviate any P&S concerns because they will both bring in huge amounts of profit.”
Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto are poised to depart Leeds United.
There’s no denying that Summerville’s departure will be a setback; he scored 21 times last season, which would be a significant contribution to replace.
But it is what has sparked interest in him this summer from a slew of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Chelsea, and will almost certainly fetch a high price.
Losing one wide man would undoubtedly be exacerbated if his most obvious replacement also left, and Gnonto has demonstrated his ability in flashes over the last two seasons, particularly now that Jaidon Anthony’s loan has expired.
However, the Italian was unable to displace Dan James from Daniel Farke’s side for much of the season until injury struck, so a suitable replacement could be found if a reasonable offer was made.
And if the two transactions allowed Leeds United to keep homegrown talent Archie Gray, it may have been a worthwhile sacrifice, especially given the large sum of money brought in from the new Red Bull sponsorship, which should have helped alleviate financial pressures.
