Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke endured a difficult summer that was full of speculation over his best players before the transfer window slammed shut.
The German head coach had to deal with the rumours and then had to contend with some of his key stars moving on from Elland Road, as Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter, and Glen Kamara were all sold.
All four of those players started at least 36 Championship matches for the club during the 2023/24 campaign, which speaks to their importance to the side last term.
The former Norwich City boss was, however, allowed to dip into the market to bolster his squad with new recruits, and brought in the likes of Joe Rodon, Isaac Schmidt, Largie Ramazani, Alex Cairns, Jayden Bogle, and Manor Solomon, among others.
Farke seemingly identified the central midfield area as one that needed to be strengthened, as the club brought in Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell in that position, after Kamara was sold to Rennes.
The Leeds boss now has a plethora of midfield options to choose from each week and has strong competition for places in that area of the pitch.
Leeds United’s current midfield options
Captain Ethan Ampadu and Bulgaria international Ilia Gruev were selected to play in the middle of the park in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley last time out.
Meanwhile, summer signings Tanaka and Rothwell were forced to wait on the bench before coming on during the second half in an attempt to change the game.
Ampadu has started all 54 of the Championship games, including the play-offs, of Farke’s reign so far, which suggests that his place in the starting XI is not in danger any time soon, and it could be between Gruev, Tanaka, and Rothwell to play alongside the Wales international.
|
Leeds midfielders |
Market value |
|---|---|
|
Ethan Ampadu |
£13.5m |
|
Ilia Gruev |
£4.2m |
|
Ao Tanaka |
£3.4m |
|
Joe Rothwell |
£2.1m |
As you can see in the table above, the former Chelsea man is the most valuable central midfielder in the squad, by some distance, and Rothwell, who is on loan from Bournemouth, is the least valuable.
Leeds sold Kamara to Rennes for a reported fee of £8.4m in the summer, which would make him the second most valuable in that group, and the Whites will be hoping that they do not live to regret that sale.
One expensive sale of a central midfielder that Leeds will certainly not regret is Ronaldo Vieira, whose value has plummeted since he moved on from Elland Road in 2018.
How much Leeds sold Ronaldo Vieira for
In the summer of 2018, former sporting director Victor Orta opted to cash in on the young ace for a reported fee of £7m ahead of Marcelo Bielsa’s first season with the club.
He came up through the youth ranks with the Whites, after joining from the i2i Football Academy in 2015, and emerged as a regular first-team operator in the 2016/17 campaign.
Vieira showed plenty of promise in that breakthrough season in the Championship, as he showcased his ability on the ball and his combative nature in the middle of the park.
The teenage starlet, who was dubbed “bombastic” by ex-coach Simon Collins, completed 81% of his attempted passes and made an eye-catching 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game across 34 appearances and 24 starts in the division.
His combative qualities in midfield were on show again in the 2017/18 campaign, with 3.5 tackles and interceptions per match in 28 outings in the Championship.
|
2017/18 Championship |
Ronaldo Vieira |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
28 |
|
Assists |
2 |
|
Pass accuracy |
79% |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
3.5 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
47% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
40% |
As you can see in the table above, Vieira did not provide much in the way of quality as a creator of goals and his pass completion rate went down in comparison to his first full season in the league.
His duel success rates also show that opposition players found it too easy to get the better of him at times, as he lost the majority of his battles.
Orta then opted to cash in on the 20-year-old England U21 international at the end of that season, after Sampdoria came to the table with an offer of £7m.
Orta struck gold for Leeds
The Leeds sporting director struck gold for the club with that deal because Vieira has struggled since moving to Italy and away from Elland Road.
At the time of writing (18/09/2024), Transfermarkt places his current market value at a staggeringly low €1m (£843k), which is considerably
lower than any of the aforementioned Leeds midfielders.
It is also a stunning fall from the £7m that Sampdoria paid to secure his services back in 2018, when the central midfielder was 20 and seemingly on the rise.
Now 26, Vieira’s career has not gone to plan, as shown by his plummeting market value, and Leeds will look back on the £7m they gained from his sale as a blinder of a deal for them.
The English midfielder has only played 94 matches for Sampdoria in all competitions since his move in 2018, with loan spells at Torino and Hellas Verona in the 2022/23 and 2020/21 campaigns respectively.
He racked up 77 appearances in the Serie A for those three clubs combined and is currently playing in the Serie B for Sampdoria, where he featured in 13 league matches last term.
|
24/25 Serie B |
Ronaldo Vieira |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
3 |
|
Starts |
1 |
|
Sofascore rating |
5.73 |
|
Pass accuracy |
69% |
|
Duel success rate |
33% |
|
Error led to goal |
1 |
As you can see in the table above, Vieira has played in three of the club’s second division games in the current season and has struggled badly.
The 26-year-old dud has been sloppy in possession, with a pass accuracy of 69%, and has been dominated in physical duels, whilst also making one error that directly led to a goal.
Overall, his time at Sampdoria has been disappointing as his value has plummeted and he has failed to nail down a regular place in the side, which is why Leeds struck gold by selling him for £7m.
