Leeds United U21s coach Michal Pujdak believes the Elland Road outfit have a player with ‘big potential’ in Diogo Monteiro. The defender sealed a transfer to the Whites in January.
The 18-year-old is yet to play with Leeds’ first-team since his arrival in West Yorkshire. But he has regularly trained with the senior fold at Thorp Arch and has appeared on the bench in four games. Yet the centre-half’s early days in England have seen him play at youth level.
Leeds signed Monteiro from Servette FC in the mid-season sales having admired his efforts in Switzerland this season. The teenager has also begun to establish himself in the Portugal U19 team. He already had caps at U15, 16, 17 and 18 levels before his debut in September.
Servette accepted a bid in the region of £1m from Leeds for Monteiro after just seven first-team appearances. He had also only started in two games for the Swiss club’s senior squad after advancing through their academy. The Geneva native had joined Les Grenats in 2017.
Monteiro impressed Michael Skubala during his spell as Leeds’ caretake manager to make their bench against Manchester United and Everton in the Premier League. Javi Gracia also included the defender as a substitute against Southampton and in the FA Cup at Fulham.
Diogo Monteiro is impressing Leeds’ U21 staff since his transfer from Servette
Leeds signed Monteiro to strengthen their options at centre-half but he is proving to be a versatile addition. After playing in his natural role for the Whites’ U21s against Newcastle United and Aston Villa, he featured as a right-back against Derby County on Monday night.
Paco Gallardo would oversee Leeds’ first clean sheet in Premier League 2 Division 2 since October against the Rams. While Monteiro’s efforts impressed assistant youth team coach Pujdak, who feels Leeds have a dedicated individual who will prove to be a good signing.
“Fantastic professional,” Pujdak stated, via quotes by Leeds Live. “He’s still very young and people forget how young he is. He had to fill in at right-back tonight but he did a really good job, very professional and defensively solid.
“He’s comfortable in possession of the ball and at the training ground he’s a top, top professional. He wants to do extras and develop all aspects of his game, he wants to do video sessions and extra tactical practice.
“I think he will be good. He’s got big potential and we are definitely going to benefit from him going through the experience of playing Under-21s football [and] getting ready for the first-team.”
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