EXCLUSIVE: Phil Hay confirms Leeds U-turn on Willy Gnonto’s future with club now looking to tie player down to new and improved contract at Elland Road if he accepts following exit rumors to West Ham

Willy Gnonto is now “close” to signing a new Leeds United contract as the club now look to improve his terms, according to Phil Hay.

The Athletic journalist reported via Twitter on 22 January that the Whites were looking to “finalise an agreement” with the Italian international, having been hopeful of locking him into a better deal.

His story with David Ornstein on The Athletic website adds that the 20-year-old is close to agreeing new terms to remain at Elland Road.

It had emerged via Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas earlier on Monday that Leeds United were “increasingly confident” of getting the deal done, and it now appears that it is set to be completed soon.

An intention from the club’s side to find an accord with Gnonto that secured his place at Elland Road was one thing, but given how things had gone for him over the past six months it seemed entirely another for him to be on board as well.

Having done just about all he could to try to leave before the summer window closed in the face of sustained interest from Everton, only for the Whites to refuse, and then seen his opportunities on the pitch fade thanks to the outstanding form of Crysencio Summerville and Dan James, he could easily have been minded to look elsewhere.

That the former FC Zurich youngster is apparently prepared to sign a new deal, which should in theory end speculation over an exit for the short-term at least, suggests strong buy-in to what Daniel Farke and the 49ers are doing so far this term.

The fact that he had three and a half more years on his existing deal anyway and will be paid better on a new one obviously won’t have hurt.

But for a player who has only started six league games it appears a positive step to ensure that he is not looking elsewhere.

Farke appears to demand full commitment to the project even if players aren’t getting much of a look in, judging by his hardline stance on Charlie Cresswell, so the fact that the club are pushing to get this done likely means Gnonto has shown that.

A note of caution might come from the fact that Joe Gelhardt signed a new, improved contract ahead of last season along with a general expectation that he was set to become key and yet he has dropped into the background even further.

So Gnonto’s future is perhaps an opportunity for the new regime to differentiate themselves from the previous one when it comes to the planning around this sort of decision.