Diogo Monteiro’s January arrival at Leeds United may have been understated, but he’s certainly made an impression during his first month at the club. The 18-year-old defender joined Leeds on transfer deadline day after catching the Whites’ eye while playing for Swiss club Servette and Portugal Under-19s.
Although he has been training with the first-team at Thorp Arch on a regular basis, his only game time so far in a United shirt has come with the U21s, making appearances for the club in three Premier League 2 Division 2 games. Monteiro has been nothing but solid at the back and his performances have helped the promotion chasers turn their form around and consolidate their position at the top of the table.
He’s a centre-back by trade but his most recent outing, on Monday night against Derby County, came at right-back and he certainly looked the part as Leeds kept their first clean sheet in the league since October. The defender’s displays in the U21s set up have been notable, but it seems coaches have been most impressed by his attitude in training and enthusiasm to develop as a player.
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Youth team coach Michal Pujdak, who will be assisting new U21s boss Paco Gallardo, has been delighted with the teenager’s behaviour since he arrived in West Yorkshire and he’s tipping him for big things.
“Fantastic professional,” Pujdak said following Monday night’s routine win over the Rams. “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, getting ready for the first-team.”
Monteiro is still waiting to make his senior debut for the Whites, but he has already been included on the first-team bench on four separate occasions. The Portugal youth international is expected to spend the rest of the season with the U21s, but Javi Gracia, who was in attendance at the LNER Community Stadium in York on Monday night, will no doubt be keeping close tabs on his progress.
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