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.
