Ian Wright lauds player Leeds wanted, he’s now ‘taken the headlines’ from Ronaldo

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Ian Wright has lauded one-time Leeds United transfer target, Goncalo Ramos, for ‘taking the headlines’ at the Qatar World Cup when he replaced Cristiano Ronaldo and scored a hat-trick for Portugal during their 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old from Benfica started Portugal’s round of 16 showdown against the Swiss, and like Ronaldo in his prime, he was ‘pure class’, according to Ian Wright.

But the Benfica man wasn’t expected to start!

It seems as though Ronaldo’s past problems at Manchester United have followed him to the Middle East because, before the game, Portugal’s boss, Fernando Santos, decided to drop the 37-year-old to the bench.

That opened the door for Ramos to start, as he became the second-youngest man, after Brazil great Pele, to score a hat-trick during the knockout stages of the World Cup – Ramos is 21 years and 169 days, whilst Pele was 17 years and 244 days, as reported by ESPN.

Nonetheless, Ramos stole the show on football’s biggest stage and Wright was left seriously impressed by the player, as he told ITV Sport.

“He played very well, of course, scored a hat-trick, and he’s taken all the headlines,” said Wright. “His hold-up play and everything was brilliant.

“The first goal set the stool for him. He scored that goal which he was not meant to score. He has hit it so well and so early. I like the near-post move (for the second goal).

“This is pure class (third goal) because he’s in total control. He has had good touches of the football. The goalkeeper can’t get there and he has dinked it beautifully. It’s brilliant. The icing on the cake and the cherry on the top.”

LEEDS’ INTEREST IN RAMOS

Whether it’s Marcelo Bielsa, or now Jesse Marsch, Leeds have always craved that out-and-out striker, but for some odd reason, no deal has been done for a player.

With Patrick Bamford’s continued problems with injuries, it becomes paramount that Leeds need to sign a striker when the January transfer window opens.

One thing is for sure, it won’t be Ramos given the limelight that will be on him now, but it could have been a different story during the summer transfer window when the Yorkshire outfit expressed interest in the youngster.