The Sun (15/7 p59) reports that Cardiff City are lining up a £8m bid for Leeds United midfielder, Ronaldo Vieira. Neil Warnock is prepared to raid his former club to uptake a challenge for survival in the Premier League next term. He has already bolstered the club ranks with four signings – Josh Murphy, Bobby Reid, Alex Smithies and Greg Cunningham.
Bringing in a young rising midfielder for more cover centrally could be the final piece to tie the entire team together. The Bluebirds already have the likes of Loic Damour, Callum Paterson, Joe Ralls and also have given Aron Gunnarsson a new contract.
Vieira could be a long-term asset and also a prolific sporadic option. He has been particularly noticeable for his exploits with the England U20 and U21 side and now has 11 caps in total.
He was handed his professional debut by Steve Evans against Preston North End in May 2016. The teenager is one of the most talented academy graduates at Leeds United to have progressed to the senior team and quickly started to impress during his regular appearances under Garry Monk.
Vieira made 32 appearances last season alone, racking up his total to 71 for the Elland Road outfit. He looked impressive despite Leeds’ horror showing in the EFL Championship last season.
He is primarily suited to the central midfield role but can appear in more offensive positions as well. The 19-year-old is still developing himself into a prime talent with each passing game but has shown massive potential to succeed at the big stage.
However, will a switch to Wales really help his development as a footballer? While Cardiff are promising Premier League football, they have a deep enough squad to take over the challenges without Vieira.
The Englishman will also need a significant amount of time to break into a new squad without any guarantee of playing time. Leeds have appointed a highly experienced coach and is looking to make a refurbished run for promotion.
Vieira is expected to have a more prominent role at West Yorkshire than at Cardiff. However, Marcelo Bielsa is looking to make improvements to the Peacocks squad as well but does not seem to have the financial pedigree to go after big targets.
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His first and only signing so far as Leeds’ head coach is Lewis Baker on a loan deal from Chelsea. He needs to address the defence and also has to bring in a scoring forward. Maybe Vieira’s sell on value will get him the leverage to pursue top professionals with more intent.
