Ruben Amorim praises ‘smart guy’ at Man Utd who has already exceeded expectations

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Manchester United are loving life in 2025/26 so far, putting in their best performance of the pre-season in a 4-1 win against Bournemouth.

Rasmus Hojlund got his much-needed goal, and Ethan Williams marked a memorable game for himself with a goal too.

Patrick Dorgu was irresistible, and there were contributions as usual from Amad, Bruno Fernandes, and more.

But the player who caught Ruben Amorim’s eye was someone else entirely, as his name was brought up unprompted again. He’s quickly becoming the manager’s favourite.

Ruben Amorim praises Diego Leon’s cameo

So good has Patrick Dorgu been that the displays of his understudy this season, Diego Leon, have flown under the radar to an extent.

The Paraguayan wonderkid has been thrown into the deep end, as he’s facing Premier League opposition after coming over from Cerro Porteño.

After impressing Amorim in previous games, Leon was a bundle of energy again during his cameo against Bournemouth.

He drove forward with the ball fearlessly, and he was so inventive that even his mistake ended up as an assist for Ethan Williams.

After the game, Amorim brought up his name for praise without being asked, a sign of how much he already rates Leon.

Amorim said: “We looked like a different team today. I’m really happy with Bryan [Mbeumo] and Matheus [Cunha]. Even Diego [Leon]. You can see it. He’s a smart guy. For a guy who came from Paraguay to come to the Premier League, he’s really powerful.”

Man Utd’s big weakness is now a strength

Man Utd fans don’t need reminding of those days under Erik ten Hag, where a lottery on the matchday seemed to decide who would play as the left-back for that particular game.

From Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Sofyan Amrabat and Antony, every second player seemed to have had a stint there.

Amorim came in and immediately bought an undisputed starter for that position by buying Patrick Dorgu, and with Diego Leon already exceeding expectations, United’s big weakness suddenly looks like a big strength.

Add Matheus Cunha impressing on the left No. 10 position, and that suddenly becomes a key attacking phase for the team.

Amorim’s squad-building approach deserves credit too, since he not only bought Dorgu, but made the brave call of choosing Leon over Harry Amass, despite the latter having more first-team pedigree after a breakthrough season.

Both those decisions, questioned at the time, are ageing as extremely shrewd moves that have transformed an ailing left side for Man Utd.