In our latest instalment of the Flashback series, we take a look back at a certain moment and look at how things might have changed those initial reactions.
Leeds United fans did not appear to take the news very well when Ronaldo Vieira was sold to Sampdoria in the summer of 2018.
The midfielder is thought to have joined the Serie A outfit for a transfer fee of £7.7m and potentially rising to £10m (BBC), in a deal that is believed to have infuriated Marcelo Bielsa at the time as well.
Having only been at the club for a matter of weeks, the Argentine was said to be unhappy with the decision to let the youngster leave Elland Road but Andrea Radrizzani stated it was a ‘sacrifice‘ the Whites needed to make.
Indeed, Leeds fans were not pleased either to see the former England Under-21 international be moved on either, with many of them taking to Twitter to share their anger with the club’s hierarchy.
Here are just some of those reactions…
Farewell sweet prince pic.twitter.com/dG9z8tbtPB
— We Are Leeds (@weareleeds_) August 1, 2018
Terrible mistake this
— Ryan Lofthouse (@Ryanlofty1) August 1, 2018
Good luck big man @Ronaldo_Vieira8 big mistake @LUFC 🙁
— dean madden (@rko4life2009) August 1, 2018
Good luck @Ronaldo_Vieira8 ,terrible decision to let you go in my opinion, thanks for your efforts MOT!!
— Coombesy (@Coombesy18) August 1, 2018
What a player this fella will be, pity not at Leeds but his style will suit Italian football, this could haunt us
— marc blackburn (@marcyeboah) August 1, 2018
Massive mistake. Should be looking at bringing these sort of players through. Especially if they are talented enough to be playing for England youth teams. Imagine what he will be in 2 seasons time if he had stayed!
— William Hicks (@will_hicks93) August 2, 2018
All the best to ronaldo a big mistake by Lufc.
— Pete. Leave EU ! (@BadgeSmiley) August 1, 2018
However, things do not necessarily appear to have affected Leeds as, perhaps, many would have first feared when Vieira was sold to Sampdoria.
Of course, the young midfielder had been making a solid impression during his time at Elland Road as he appeared to play a pivotal role for the likes of Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom in the season prior to his departure.
According to the data collected by WhoScored for the 2017/18 campaign, Vieira managed to achieve an impressive average of 2.1 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 1.7 clearances in the 28 Championship matches he featured in.
Although it would be difficult to know whether Leeds would have achieved promotion to the Premier League last season with him still in the side, Bielsa’s side do not appear to be missing him as much as, perhaps, many felt they would.
The Argentine admitted to Radrizzani that the then-teenager “was not ready to be in the starting line-up”, so there would have been a debate as to whether he would have had a starring role.
However, the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich have all become key members of the midfield and have since thrived under Bielsa, which may have reduced the opportunities Vieria may have had to make a mark at Elland Road under the South American.
Indeed, Phillips is, perhaps, the most notable of the trio to have significantly improved under the 64-year-old’s guidance as the defensive midfielder appears to have gone from strength-to-strength.
Although he recorded the same average of tackles and interceptions (2.6 and 1.3 respectively) under Christiansen and Heckingbottom in 2017/18 and in Bielsa’s first season, the 23-year-old played over 400 minutes more for the Argentine, which appears to make the figures that more impressive – whilst his clearances average jumped from 1.7 to 2.6.
As such, Phillips has continued to improve as well, having recorded 4.6 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.7 clearances in his seven Championship matches so far (WhoScored).
Klich has taken his game to another level following the arrival of Bielsa, having seemingly been deemed surplus to requirements under the former management team. He made just five appearances in the first six months of his Elland Road career – which included just one start (Transfermarkt).
Since then, the 29-year-old has emerged as a mainstay in the Argentine’s first-team and has produced some telling contributions for the Whites, especially as he goes forward with the ball. The Poland international has become a threat in front of goal and has since managed to bag himself 12 goals and ten assists in the 58 appearances he has made to date.
Vieria looks to be struggling for game time at Sampdoria at the moment (having made just 18 appearances in just over one year).
Perhaps, he would have played a few more games than that at Elland Road for Bielsa, however it would appear Leeds are not missing him at the moment and, as such, did well to get a transfer fee of up to £10m for him when they did.
Leeds fans, do you think the club miss Vieira or did they do well to get what they did for him when they did? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!
