Over the summer, it was clear that Leeds United were trying to sign a new forward that could play either up front or on the wings when they nearly signed Bamba Dieng.
That deal eventually fell through, which is why the Elland Road side then turned their attention to Wilfried Gnonto, whom they signed very late in the transfer window.
They are now reaping the benefits, as the young forward has become a regular for Leeds, and Calciomercato explain how so many let the player slip through their fingers.
The big question, following the striker’s decision to head to Switzerland for more game time, is why Italian clubs never tried to bring him back?
The answer, according to the website, is that FC Zürich initially asked for too much, wanting €15m to let Gnonto leave.
That was seen as ‘too much’ for interested clubs, including Italian ones, forcing a lot of teams to ‘take a step back’.
After that, it’s said that Zürich’s requests started to go down, from €15m to €10m and eventually from €10m to €8m.
That’s when Leeds came in, starting with an offer of €4m + bonuses that made the Swiss side ‘sit down at the table’.
However, it was rejected, but ‘continues contacts between the parties’ were what did it, and the two sides reached a ‘handshake’ at €4m + a percentage on the next sale.
Basically, patience and determination won the race for Leeds.
