YouTuber Conor McGilligan has suggested that Leeds United transfer target Diogo Monteiro could make an immediate impact in the first team just like Willy Gnonto.

What’s the word?

As per the Yorkshire Evening Post, the teenager should soon arrive at Elland Road from Swiss club Servette after he turns 18 on 28th January.

Of course, at such a young age, he will potentially be expected to go into the youth teams at Leeds before being asked to impress for the first team.

However, we've already seen 19-year-old Gnonto arrive at the club recently and quickly show his value in Jesse Marsch's senior side, so perhaps Monteiro can follow a similar path.

McGilligan certainly seemed hopeful that this could happen when he spoke about the exciting transfer rumours on the One Leeds Fan Channel.

Indeed, he said: “It's great that we're bringing a centre-back in, maybe he can bring himself through the ranks a little bit quicker.

"Obviously, we saw with Willy Gnonto, it felt like his first introduction to this Leeds United was going to be in the youth setup, but he was that good that he bolstered his way up into that first team and now he's arguably the best player in the entire squad.

“So yeah, I mean, you expect him [Monteiro] to go to be decent. We know with our youth products that have been signed that there is a pathway to that first team, which is really good from Leeds United's point of view.

"And yeah, I'm excited by this one. I think any centre-back coming in is a positive."

Exciting stuff

While Gnonto did initially adapt to English football with three appearances in Premier League 2, he has since established himself as a top talent at senior level.

Indeed, he has been trusted to feature in the club's last ten games in all competitions, scoring three goals and proving one assist in that time.

Of course, Montero is still yet to even turn 18 and so it might be a little ambitious to expect him to come right into the first team. Still, with seven senior appearances for Servette, it's not as if he's only ever played youth football – having featured three times in the Swiss Super League this term.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out if and when he does arrive this winter.