Sheffield United are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira, according to Football Insider.

What's the story?

The 23-year-old midfielder has made 44 appearances in total for Sampdoria, although he didn't feature for them last term, having spent time out on loan with Hellas Verona, in what was an injury-hit spell.

Vieira has previously been on the books of Leeds United, whom he was with before moving to Sampdoria, but it looks as though he's set to return to English football this summer.

A move to Sheffield is seemingly a tempting proposition for Vieira, with the Blades looking to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking this season after they were relegated from the top-flight last term.

'Bright future'

Sheffield United's supporters will be hoping that Vieira can strike up a strong partnership in midfield with the likes of Ollie Norwood and Sander Berge.

Berge won an average of 3.7 duels per game last term, which is the same figure as Vieira, but the Sampdoria midfielder edged it when it comes to tackles per game, with the Italian man averaging 1.2 tackles per game compared to Berge's 1.1 in the Premier League last term.

Vieira won an average of 1.5 aerial duels per game, whilst Berge's average is slightly lower at 1.1 per game from last season and the potential of having both players in the starting XI for Slavisa Jokanovic's side next season could be a frightening prospect for opposition teams to come up against.

With the creative ability of Ollie Norwood coupled with the hard work ethic and tough tackling of both Berge and Vieira, the Blades would cement themselves as one of the favourites to win promotion into the Premier League. The Blades must do all they can to get this deal done as quickly as possible so Vieira can be part of thier squad for the entire upcoming campaign.