The reason Hull City turned down chance to sign Leeds’ Ronaldo Vieira before he joined the Whites

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Hull City missed out on the chance to sign the 18-year-old before he ended up joining Leeds United.

Ronaldo Vieira’s former coach has claimed that the Leeds United prospect may well have ended up joining Hull City before his move to Elland Road, but the Tigers turned down the chance to sign him for one particular reason, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

Vieira – who was born in Guinea-Bissau but was raised in Portugal – moved to England in 2011. In 2015, he signed for Leeds United’s academy and within a year was playing for the first-team, quickly becoming a key part of Garry Monk’s plans.

Leeds United’s Ronaldo Vieira

But, according to Simon Collins – who has worked for Leeds and Manchester City in the past – Hull City and Leeds’ Championship rivals Barnsley were given the chance to sign the youngster after City had said no and before he came to Thorp Arch, but both turned him down.

“Barnsley said no,” he said, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post. “With Hull it was more down to the fact that they weren’t willing to pay for his travel. I think they were keen but it wasn’t really possible for him to get there without some help.

“York City wanted him but they didn’t have an Under-21s team and by that stage we felt that he would be able to play in the Championship anyway. Leeds took him on, liked him straight away, and signed him up.”

Although he is playing in the division below, Hull City fans would be forgiven for being annoyed at the hierarchy for letting Vieira slip through their fingers simply because of the cost of travel – especially as he was already living in Yorkshire – after watching him star for Leeds this season.

The 18-year-old is arguably one of the brightest prospects in the second tier, and based on how quickly he has emerged as a genuine rival for Liam Bridcutt’s and Eunan O’Kane’s positions in the squad, it would not be a surprise if he adapts just as quickly when – almost definitely not if – given a chance at the highest level.

And with Hull’s situation in the Premier League somewhat bleak, some supporters may be wondering whether he could have made an impact for them as early as this season had the club taken a chance and been willing to subsidise his travel costs.