Diogo Monteiro seemed to enjoy his first taste of football in a Leeds United shirt on Monday evening. The defender had to wait two weeks for the chance to pull on the colours of his new club, having joined from Swiss Super League outfit Servette on transfer deadline day, but he produced a fine performance as the Under-21s drew 2-2 with Newcastle United a Whitley Park.
The addition of Monteiro was perhaps overshadowed by other dealings at the time, but there was still an excitement from supporters to welcome the 18-year-old to the club, particularly after seeing Wilfried Gnonto excel in such a way after making the move at the same age from the same league. Gnonto was already an Italian international when he made the switch, making direct comparisons between the two a little unfair.
However, the club have high hopes that the Portugal youth international will be able to follow in his footsteps and make the jump into the first-team down the line and he did little to suggest Leeds' faith is misplaced during his first run out for the club. He will have been buoyed by the experience of watching Leeds’ Premier League defeat to Manchester United from the bench, even if he didn’t get on, and he portrayed a picture of confidence as the Whites travelled to Northumberland.
Read more: Leeds United U21s player ratings as Charlie Allen and Sam Greenwood impress in Newcastle draw
His first touch in the Premier League 2 Division 2 fixture was a good one. Remaining composed under pressure from a Magpies attacker, Monteiro lifted a pass out to Connor Ferguson, after spotting the space on the left flank.
It wasn’t the simple ball, with other options available to him, but it was a move that instantly settled him into the contest. With the Whites 1-0 up through Mateo Joseph’s early goal, Monteiro made a well-timed block inside the area to deny Newcastle attacker Rodrigo Vilca a certain equaliser.
Vilca struggled to find a way into the contest, truth be told, as Monteiro and Kris Moore managed his threat down Leeds’ right. The youngster then had the chance to get himself on the scoresheet, rising highest in the box to get his head on a deep Sam Greenwood corner.
Unfortunately, though, he couldn’t find the target as he pushed his nodded effort wide. There was little he could have done to prevent both Newcastle goals from hitting the back of the net, with an individual error higher up the field leading to their first before Ferguson tuned a late equaliser into his own net.
His defensive partnership with Jeremiah Mullen will probably see sterner tests over the remaining seven games of the season, but it could play a pivotal role as the club look to seal promotion back to the top flight of youth football at the first time of asking. Co-caretaker manager Chris Armas was in attendance to observe how the likes of Greenwood, Joseph and Gyabi fared in the North East.
He’ll only have positive things to say about Monteiro, though, when he reports back to the first-team staff about the fixture. The centre-back won’t be rushed into the first-team picture at Elland Road, but he’ll be one worth keeping an eye on over the coming weeks and months as he continues to find his feet in the English game.
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