Good Morning. It's Friday 11th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
New levels of incompetency as Gnonto move edges closer
Leeds fans have been left dumbfounded, after reports emerged yesterday afternoon, that Wilfred Gnonto has agreed a five year contract with the Toffee's; a claim which is backed up by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. According to Romano, Gnonto made himself unavailable for the Cup match midweek in an attempt to force Leeds hands. Everton believe they can secure his signature for £19m, and having witnessed Leeds transfer dealings thus far this Summer, who can blame them!
Only yesterday, Leeds lost their midfield dynamo Tyler Adams for a paltry £20m to a club who wouldn't think twice about splashing the cash, if they needed to do so. We've seen the likes of Southampton and Leicester City playing hard ball, and recouping over twice these amounts for players with much shorter terms.
In James Maddison's case, he only had 12 months left on his contract, but the Foxes were still able to command a £42m fee. Leeds are finding it difficult to recruit too. In the rare case they find a bargain, as in Max Aarons' case, Bournemouth came along, and plucked him from under Leeds' noses!
Gnonto is only a year into his five year contract, and one of only a few Leeds players not to have a relegation clause. He is a fully fledged Italian International and at 19, has the potential to become one of Europe's rising stars of the future. Gnonto may have only cost £3.8m, but we also need to remember his former club FC Zurich have a substantial sell on clause.
I'm sure Daniel Farke is not used to these levels of incompetency, and more or less said so during his press conference yesterday, stopping close to pointing the finger at those upstairs. How long can we expect him to stick around if things don't improve?
Elland Road bomb hoaxer spared jail
A man who made a hoax bomb threat, alleging he had planted an 'improvised explosive' in, or around the confines of the Elland Road Stadium, has been spared jail at Leeds Crown Court yesterday. Koli Boci, a local man from Hunslet, admitted visiting the club's Instagram account on Tuesday 4th April, stating “I have planted an improvised explosive.” This was followed-up moments later “Have fun guys.” Specialised officers then sprung into action, sealing off the area whilst a painstaking search took place.
Boci, who was 20 at the time, described the incident as a “drunken, misjudged attempt at humour”. He failed to see the funny side of it when, hours later armed officers broke his front door down, and arrested him. Among his belongings, was a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook”, a book that includes instructions on bomb-making. Nevertheless, his defence counsel convinced the judge that his client was a man of 'impeccable character' and 'posed no danger to the public'. He was given a £10,000 fine, and a suspended nine month sentence, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work.
