Leeds United academy graduate Ronaldo Vieira is being lined up by A.C. Milan after one year in Italy with Sampdoria, according to reports.
Prominent national newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport believes the 20-year-old is one option being considered by the Rossoneri as they rebuild their midfield.
Marco Giampaolo, the current Sampdoria boss, is expected to take over at San Siro this summer, which creates the obvious link with the Genoa club’s current roster.
The report marks out Vieira as one of the possible replacements for Chelsea loanee Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is returning to London.
The former Benfica youth is talked up as a cheap option at €10m, but also considered a riskier bet for regular football than Bakayoko was.
Vieira was sold by the Whites last summer in an unexpected move which indirectly funded the purchase of striker Patrick Bamford.
Nobody, including head coach Marcelo Bielsa, headed into the 2018/19 campaign expecting to be without Vieira, but surprise interest from Italy forced Andrea Radrizzani’s hand.
As with any promising youth pushed out of Elland Road there is the risk of better, more lucrative years ahead for the player and the £7m he was sold for could be triple that in the future.
However, Vieira has gone on to make 15 appearances in all competitions with only six Serie A starts to boot.
Despite that limited exposure, a move to Milan would certainly turn heads in West Yorkshire to what may be around the corner for the England youth international.
