Aston Villa have no intention of giving up in the race for Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto, and they are still pushing Everton in the race for his signature, according to journalist Alessio Lento.
Who are Aston Villa signing this summer?
Transfer insider Dean Jones has reported that signing a new winger will now become Villa's main aim this summer, telling GiveMeSport: “Finding a new winger is considered the new priority for Emery after reaching a deal for Pau Torres because he wants a fresh dynamic to give his attack a new edge.
“Villa have also been looking at Harvey Barnes and Brennan Johnson, so this is going to be interesting to see exactly how they narrow down the profile of the player they want and need. The ability to be adaptable is definitely something important, that’s what I keep being told.”
With Barnes now close to completing a move to Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest set to demand "mega money" for Johnson, Emery could now move on to other targets, having recently identified a couple of other options.
Moussa Diaby is now a target for the Villans, although they will have to battle the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for the Bayer Leverkusen star, while they are also one of the Premier League clubs now taking an interest in Pyramids FC's Ibrahim Adel.
There were reports early on Tuesday which indicated that Everton are now close to signing Gnonto, who has made it clear that he wants to leave Leeds this summer, but Emery is not willing to go down without a fight.
CalcioMercato journalist Lento reports that Villa and their manager have "no intention of letting go" in the race for the Italian winger, as we now enter the hottest hours in regard to his Elland Road future.
Villa are seemingly yet to make any concrete moves for the 19-year-old, but there is a suggestion they could attempt to hijack the Toffees' deal at some point in the near future.
How much will Wilfried Gnonto cost?
There have been reports that Everton are willing to stump up £19m for the youngster, but there is always a chance his price gets driven up even higher if Emery decides to make a late swoop.
Although Leeds were relegated from the Premier League last season, the Italy international showed some promising signs, weighing in with four goals and four assists in all competitions despite only receiving sporadic game time, drawing praise as "fantastic" from Gary Neville.
Given his age, the former FC Zurich man is not yet the finished article, and there are a number of areas in which he must improve, namely in his distribution of the ball, ranking in just the 32nd percentile for his pass-completion rate per 90 in the past year.
However, Gnonto has time on his side, and the fact he already has Premier League experience under his belt could make him a solid low-cost alternative to the likes of Diaby, with Bayer Leverkusen set to hold out for £50m to sanction the Frenchman's departure.
