Wilfried Gnonto’s proposed transfer to Fiorentina has reportedly reached a standstill despite the player already undergoing a medical with the club. The immediate obstacle is not how far the process has advanced in Italy, but whether Leeds United are prepared to authorise his formal departure before Fiorentina’s registration window closes.
Football Italia reports that Gnonto is in Italy and has made a public appearance wearing Fiorentina training kit. Those developments, together with the medical, show that substantial steps have already been taken towards the proposed move. They do not, however, amount to confirmation that the transfer has been completed.
The reported position separates the steps already taken in Italy from the approval Leeds have not given. Gnonto’s location, appearance in Fiorentina training wear and medical describe where the process has reached. Football Italia still reports the transfer at a standstill, with Leeds not prepared to sanction his formal departure until a replacement is lined up and ready to sign.
Leeds replacement demand holds up Gnonto transfer
The decisive complication concerns Leeds’ squad planning. Football Italia, citing transfer reporter Ben Jacobs, reports that Leeds are currently not prepared to sanction Gnonto’s formal departure until they have a replacement lined up and ready to sign.
Fiorentina’s work on the Gnonto move may be advanced, but Leeds retain control over whether his departure can be formally authorised. On the reported terms of their position, progress therefore depends on Leeds first getting another player into position to sign.
Leeds are hoping to secure a deadline-day deal for Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt, according to the report. That interest should not be mistaken for an agreement: it remains uncertain whether Leeds will be able to complete a deal for Bahoya in time, and there is no confirmation that he or another replacement will join.
The distinction matters because the reported requirement is not simply that Leeds identify a possible target. Football Italia’s account says they want a replacement lined up and ready to sign before sanctioning Gnonto’s departure.
The report identifies Bahoya as the player Leeds hope to sign on deadline day, but it leaves the outcome of that pursuit open. It remains to be seen whether Leeds will be able to get the deal over the line in time. The same uncertainty surrounds whether Leeds will sanction Gnonto’s formal departure before Fiorentina’s registration window closes.
Fiorentina face the earlier registration deadline
The pressure comes from a mismatch between the reported registration deadlines. Football Italia says Serie A clubs must register new signings by 19.00 BST, while Premier League clubs are permitted to bring in players until 23.00 BST.
That four-hour gap creates the central deadline-day problem. Leeds may have until 23.00 BST to complete their own incoming business, but Fiorentina’s reported opportunity to register Gnonto ends at 19.00 BST. A replacement completed later in the evening could still meet the Premier League deadline while arriving too late to help Fiorentina register Gnonto.
The order of those cutoffs is crucial to the reported situation. The Serie A registration deadline arrives first, while Leeds are operating in a league whose clubs can bring in players for another four hours. Leeds’ search for a replacement therefore has more reported deadline time than Fiorentina have to register Gnonto.
In practical terms, Leeds’ timetable for recruiting and Fiorentina’s timetable for registering are not aligned. The English club’s later cutoff does not extend the Italian deadline. If Leeds continue to withhold approval while working on a replacement, the relevant window for Gnonto is the earlier one.
This is why the medical, Gnonto’s presence in Italy and his appearance in Fiorentina clothing have not settled the outcome. Those are signs of an advanced process, but the report identifies formal approval from Leeds as still outstanding under their replacement requirement. The remaining uncertainty is about timing and authorisation, not whether Gnonto has travelled for the proposed move.
What could happen before 19.00 BST
The reported situation leaves two unresolved paths. Leeds could line up a replacement in time and sanction Gnonto’s departure before Fiorentina’s 19.00 BST registration cutoff. Alternatively, the Serie A deadline could arrive while Leeds are still seeking a replacement and withholding approval.
Neither outcome is confirmed. It remains to be seen whether Leeds can complete the reported pursuit of Bahoya, while there is also no confirmation that they will authorise Gnonto’s departure before Fiorentina’s deadline. The proposed transfer should therefore be treated as stalled rather than completed or collapsed: the medical stage has been reached, but the replacement dependency and the earlier Italian cutoff leave the deal unresolved.