ALONGSIDE GNONTO: 3.1M PER YEAR LEEDS UNITED ACE NOW READY TO PEN NEW DEAL

Leeds United are set to be handed another boost as it has emerged that a second first team star is ready to pen fresh terms with the Championship side to extend his time at Elland Road.

Wilfried Gnonto signs new deal

12 months on from trying to force his way out of Elland Road, 20-year-old forward Wilfried Gnonto agreed a new contract with Daniel Farke's side. The Italy international was tipped to leave the club over the summer following Leeds' failure to secure an instant return to the Premier League, but despite the exits of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, Gnonto remained in Yorkshire.

Now, he is set to do so for another four years, having agreed a deal to keep him at Elland Road until 2028, the club announced on transfer deadline day.

“It feels really good. I’m really happy for this extension. I’m really happy to be here and obviously I can’t wait to play in front of the fans again", Gnonto told Leeds fans after penning his new deal. “I’ve been here two years now and I’m going into my third season, I’m really happy to be here.

“It’s been, since the start, I can say my second home. I really enjoyed being here and with the ambition in the club, I see my future here. I feel like it’s important for me to find some consistency and I feel like the right place to do it this year. So I’m really happy and I can’t wait to keep going with it.”

And in yet more good news for Leeds fans, another key figure may be set to follow suit and pen a new contract in Yorkshire.

Defender open to Leeds contract extension

That comes as one report claims that defender Junior Firpo has given the "green light" to Leeds to proceed with contract negotiations to keep him at Elland Road. The flying full back, who was signed from Barcelona in 2021, is down to the final months of his £60,000 a week (£3.1m per year) deal in Yorkshire, and is yet to pen fresh terms.

Though he struggled in the Premier League, the Dominican Republic international has excelled in the Championship under Farke, drawing plenty of praise from his manager.

“I never made a secret out of it that I think that Junior Firpo on this level is an outstanding full-back, with his experience, with his technical ability, with his strength going forward", the Leeds boss explained over the summer.

Now, TEAMtalk report that the fullback is "open to extending his stay at Leeds United" and ready to sign a new contract, though he wants to "first understand the intentions and ambitions of the club" before committing the best part of his career to the Whites.

Were Firpo to follow Gnonto in extending his stay at Elland Road, it would come as a massive boost to Farke's side, with Leeds in danger of losing him for nothing as things stand and Firpo free to enter into talks with foreign clubs from January 1st. Much may depend on how the early season pans out for Leeds, and the full back is sure to have a major say in that.

2024-09-13T22:53:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd