Leeds United have completed the signing of winger Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan.The Athletic reported earlier in the day that the 21-year-old was on course to arrive at Elland Road on loan.If the Frenchman triggers an undisclosed clause in the contract, United will be obliged to buy him permanently for €23million (£19.7m) with €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons. Leeds will also pay a loan fee of €2m for Bahoya, who is a right-footed, left-sided attacker – a profile Leeds had targeted in this window.
— Leeds United (@LUFC) September 1, 2026For much of the past week, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk was the attacker Leeds were most interested in. However, while the two clubs could not reach an agreement for the Ukrainian, Tottenham Hotspur swooped for him on Monday, taking him off the table.Wilfried Gnonto, who was always a possible departure this summer, owing to his low placing in the club’s pecking order, was granted permission to fly to Florence on Monday. While he waited for a verdict on a proposed move to Fiorentina, Leeds reassessed their options, and Bahoya emerged on Tuesday evening.
Hull City and Frankfurt agreed terms on a deal for the France under-21 international last week, but he ultimately opted against the move. Now, available to the market again, Bahoya has seemingly chosen to move to West Yorkshire.Gnonto has joined Fiorentina on loan (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)With the terms of an agreement in place on Bahoya, Leeds decided to sanction Gnonto’s loan to Fiorentina in time for Italy’s 7pm transfer deadline. The 22-year-old will spend the season back in his homeland and his new club have the option to make the move permanent next summer.Aside from the one-in-one-out equation Leeds spent the afternoon solving, another of their attackers was of interest to a rival. Sunderland enquired about Noah Okafor’s availability before the 11pm cut-off.Sources at Elland Road indicate the conversation did not get off the ground, with a swift rejection of any possibility the Swiss might leave the club. Okafor arrived at Leeds from AC Milan last summer for £18million.He went on to score eight goals in 28 Premier League appearances for United. He was taken to the World Cup by Switzerland this summer, but saw his minutes severely restricted.AnalysisThroughout the past week, all of the noise around Leeds and the end of the transfer window centred on Mudryk. Despite question marks on depth at left-back and centre-forward, it seemed it would be Mudryk or nothing at Elland Road.Then it became clear Gnonto, arguably the one player in the squad with legitimate concerns about his game time this season, was of interest to Fiorentina. The equation seemed simple: Gnonto would only go if Mudryk could be acquired.It will be fascinating to see how Mudryk does with Tottenham. There always felt like an inherent risk to Leeds taking on a player like that after so long on the sidelines.It was bold of Leeds to send Gnonto to Italy in advance of any prospective transfer, especially with hopes of Mudryk arriving fading. It was ultimately the right thing to do in achieving the deal they wanted to do for Bahoya.Time will tell whether Bahoya proves more effective than Gnonto. The underlying data the Frenchman has produced in the Bundesliga is eye-catching, but he is young and will need to show he has the physicality required in the Premier League.The fee is not eye-watering either, while the fact it is a loan does give Leeds an exit route if it does not pan out. On the flipside, if he proves to be a revelation, club sources are confident he would trigger the obligation and become a Leeds player for good.
