Former Leeds United star Andy Ritchie believes the Whites will have to stave off potential suitors to keep Ronaldo Vieira at the club as he expects several sides to make a move for the youngster if he keeps improving.
The 18-year-old, who has heavily featured under new Leeds boss Garry Monk this season, put in a fine performance in the 1-0 win over Derby County last Friday, with Rams manager Steve McClaren heaping praise on the teenager after the game.
Vieira has thus far made 22 appearances in all competitions for Leeds in the present campaign, scoring once.
And Ritchie, who thinks Vieira is an all-round player, feels Leeds will have a job on their hands keeping the starlet at Elland Road as several clubs will look to snap him up if he continues to impress.
“Derby boss Steve McClaren was full of praise for Ronaldo Vieira and I think he is an excellent talent”, he wrote in his column in the Yorkshire Evening Post.
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“He’s all over the place, his passing is good and he can tackle when he wants to, not that I’m sure that it’s his favourite part of the game.
“But he knows that in modern football you have to be able to tackle and you have to be able to tackle right.
“I wasn’t even aware that Vieira was that young until a few weeks ago when I watched the Villa game when I thought ‘what a talent’.
“And if he keeps going the way he is going he is going to have a lot of people chasing him and that might be one of the things they have to stave off in the future.”
Vieira, who joined Leeds’ academy from Benfica in 2015, is contracted with the Yorkshire giants until the summer of 2019.
