Manchester United brought in Diego Leon in the summer, after a deal to sign him from Cerro Porteno was agreed back in January.
The 18-year-old had netted four times for his former club, and his attacking prowess certainly caught INEOS’ eye and they did not wait too long before pouncing.
It was always expected that the Paraguayan ace would need time to adapt to the English game, with Ruben Amorim terming him a signing for the future.
He travelled as part of the pre-season squad and impressed and as a result, loan plans were scrapped.
Loan plans were scrapped
In fact, as The Peoples Person had relayed, Harry Amass, who had broken through under the head coach last term, was subsequently deemed to be behind the Paraguay U20 international in the pecking order.
And the young Englishman was sent out on loan to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, while it was deemed that the 18-year-old summer arrival would stay back as Patrick Dorgu’s understudy.
Plenty of players praised his temperament and attitude during training, with fellow South American, Casemiro even taking him under his wing.
Amorim did name him in the matchday squad twice, but the young ace is yet to make his first team debut. He did appear for the U21s against Liverpool and it turned out to be quite the chastening experience for him.
He saw a yellow card, made a mistake which led to Liverpool’s goal and was hooked at half-time, with journalists terming him raw after the match.
Difficult academy debut
And as per The Daily Mail, scouts who were present to watch the game were surprised with United’s choice to let Amass go instead of Diego Leon.
On current evidence, he does not seem ready for the first team at all. Amass, on the other hand, has started well for his Championship side.
“While Malacia has been frozen out under Amorim, new left back Diego Leon has been training with the first-team group and played his first game for United’s Under 21s in a 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday.
“Ahead of the Paraguayan arriving from Cerro Porteno this summer, Leon was ambitious in his targets. ‘Everyone thinks I’ll go out on loan, but I don’t have that mindset,’ he said. ‘I’m going to kill it in pre-season and within one or two games, I’ll already be playing with them.’
Amass decision has raised question marks
“Confidential was in attendance for Leon’s first outing on Merseyside and, based on his 45-minute appearance, Leon still has a long way to go before getting any action for the first team.
“Leon will be with the Under 21s for the foreseeable future and should improve, but plenty of scouts at the Liverpool match expressed their confusion at the decision to prioritise Leon over Harry Amass, who was shipped out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday, where he is excelling.”
Interestingly, there have been murmurs that Leon could be loaned out in January while Malacia is back training with the U21s as well.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out and if Amorim is ultimately left short on options as a result.
Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
