Carrick set to hand forgotten United star rare chance to impress before INEOS decide his future – report

Manchester United’s 2025 summer business has been lauded by everyone, but one player could not make the impact he would have liked. Diego Leon was signed from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno and he had claimed he would “kill it” at Old Trafford last season. However, after four matchday appearances under former head coach Ruben Amorim, the 19-year-old failed to make the bench any more and was restricted to Under-21 games only. The Paraguayan did make 20 appearances for United’s Under-21s, including a fine goal against Tottenham Hotspur, but it was a season of acclimatisation for the left-back, with a January loan offer rebuffed. Diego Leon mainly restricted to Under-21 games Now, with a season in England under his belt, the expectation is that he will kick on, and according to The Manchester Evening News, he will be given a chance to impress Michael Carrick. The head coach will take the South American on United’s pre-season tour and with the Red Devils eyeing a successor for Luke Shaw, there is an opportunity up for grabs. Should he fail to take his chance, the next logical step is going out on loan, like Harry Amass did last summer. “Diego Leon will feature for Manchester United in pre-season before a decision is made on his next steps. Pre-season chance beckons “United decided to keep Leon with the Under-21s to give him time to improve different areas of his game. He will now get a chance to show what he can do in pre-season before a plan is formed for him next season. “Leon was challenged by U21 fixtures this term, so leaving on loan in the January transfer window was not realistic, but doing so in 2026/2027 would be the logical next step for his development.” With moves for Nathaniel Brown and Lewis Hall running into trouble, both Amass and Diego Leon have a golden chance to stake their claim for a first-team spot. Whether they can impress the head coach remains to be seen. The 20-time English league champions still feel the wonderkid has first-team potential, hence the patient approach. Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25