Manchester United’s immediate present looks uncertain at best, but their future is promising and Diego Leon might be about to make it even better.
Since arriving at Manchester United, Ineos have made a concerted effort toward making the squad younger and full of potential.
That drive has seeped through to the academy as well, with the likes of Chido Obi-Martin, Samuel Lusale, and Sekou Kone secured in just the last window.
United clearly want to be in a position where the best young talent chooses to go when they think of England.
Now, they’ve set their eyes on South America, as they target Diego Leon, the 17-year-old who is turning heads in Europe with his performances.
Who is Diego Leon
Diego Leon is a left-back who plays for Club Cerro Porteno in the Paraguayan First Division. Having been promoted to the first team just at the beginning of this season, his rise has been meteoric.
He has already made 19 appearances for the first team as a 17-year-old prodigy, as his club finished sixth in the Paraguayan League standings.
As a dynamic, left-footed left-back in the mold of conventional overlapping fullbacks, he has also contributed two goals in 19 games.
Diego Leon has taken to the senior team like a duck to water, having played 83% of all available minutes in his debut season.
Paraguay has seen somewhat of an influx of talent recently in the Premier League, which was headed by Miguel Almiron.
Since then, the likes of Julio Enciso have carried the flag further forward and the future looks bright for the South American nation, with Leon having the potential to be the next figurehead.
It has been reported that Diego Leon to Man Utd is in advanced negotiations after the club agreed a deal with Cerro Porteno for the transfer, with Jason Wilcox driving the deal.
United under Ineos have already shown that they can beat even the best of competition once they hone in on a target as seen with Obi-Martin or Leny Yoro in the senior team’s case.
Diego Leon, now that he has become a concrete target, has the potential to follow them.
But what kind of a player is Diego Leon and what could be his potential and prospects at Man United if he makes that move?
Diego Leon potential and style of play
Erik ten Hag had been increasingly inverting his fullbacks, with Diogo Dalot, in particular, almost functioning as a midfielder in all but name.
Noussair Mazraoui, on the other hand, played on his stronger foot on the right so overlapped a bit more but even he assists in the buildup.
However, under Ruben Amorim, that dynamic has been flipped with the left-footed Amad playing as the right wing-back and the Man Utd manager having to make do with a right-footed Dalot on the left when he prefers an overlapping fullback in that position.
Leon, as it stands, is a natural overlapping fullback as he is supremely gifted athletically and has the technical ability that belies his age.
He has the stamina to bomb up and down the flanks for the full 90 and he makes excellent use of it to track runners and contribute in attack.
He almost looks under-challenged in the Paraguayan league despite being just 17, so effortless is the way he glides past defenders in attack and shrugs off attackers while defending.
In fact, he looks so gifted in attack that ultimately, a manager might end up moving him further forward, especially if his defence in a bigger league is slow to progress. That is where his future as a potential left wing-back for United looks so bright.
For now, he shows shades of Luke Shaw when he was breaking through at Southampton, or even United’s own left-back wonderkid, Harry Amass.
Amass hasn’t received first-team minutes due to his defensive susceptibility so the path for Leon, too, if he arrives, would likely be a U21s berth.
With Shaw perenially injury-prone, the left wing-back position is there to be grabbed by the scruff of its neck. Moreover, in all of United’s youth recruitment this summer, no left-backs arrived as the club clearly values Amass highly.
If the Englishman eventually progresses to the first team, then Leon should slot in his place in the U21s side with occasional appearances for the first team.
Amass and he are perfect, modern, archetypal fullbacks that all dynamic teams would love to have. It’s up to United to make the move now.
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