Vieira left Leeds in the summer to join Italian side Sampdoria.
Ronaldo Vieira has told Football Italia that Jadon Sancho’s success at Borussia Dortmund after leaving Manchester City convinced him to depart Leeds United for Italian outfit Sampdoria.
Vieira, 20, joined Sampdoria for a fee believed to be in the region of £7.7million (BBC Sport) after impressing at Elland Road with 71 appearances for the Championship side already in his short career.
A three-time England Under-21 international, tough-tackling Vieira is yet to break into Sampdoria’s first team, managing only 26 minutes of action spread across two Serie A substitute appearances.
Speaking on his Leeds exit, Vieira looked at Sancho’s success in Germany after leaving an English club and reckons it was an opportunity he simply could not turn down – also claiming Sampdoria have been interested for a while.
“I had had a good first season at Leeds, but the second didn’t go so well. But when I spoke to the [sporting] director he told me they’d had their eyes on me for a long time now,” Vieira said.
“It might not work out for me but it’s obviously worked out for [Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon] Sancho. I hope it does work out for me, it’s a chance you have to take in life and I am enjoying my time.”
Leaving City in August 2017 to join Dortmund, Sancho’s exponential rise has resulted in earning his first England cap last week against Croatia. He has one goal and eight assists in 10 league and cup outings for Dortmund this season.
Despite his obvious talent, Sancho was never going to be given that chance to break into City’s first team with the likes of Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva on the flanks.
So to leave City was Sancho’s only hope of making it on the international scene and Vieira will be biding his time before breaking into Sampdoria’s starting eleven and mirroring Sancho’s success.
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