Diego Leon became Manchester United’s second arrival in the summer transfer window, with the Paraguayan arriving from Cerro Porteno.
His signing had been agreed in January, and it was expected that the 18-year-old would eventually leave on loan after joining the club.
Instead, he impressed Ruben Amorim so much that he was kept at Carrington as Patrick Dorgu’s understudy, while Harry Amass was loaned out.
The young left-back has taken his time adapting to his new home, with Casemiro taking him under his wing. So far, he is yet to make his first team debut, but has appeared on the bench a few times.
Diego Leon international debut
But that has not stopped him from shining on the international stage. He was called up to the senior Paraguay national team during the October international break.
He had remained an unused substitute in his country’s draw with Japan, but on Monday, he made his debut against South Korea in Seoul.
In his nine-minute cameo, the Yguazú-born defender managed 1 shot, while completing a 100 per cent of his passes. He also completed 1 defensive recovery (all stats via sofascore).
Paraguay ended up losing 0-2 but it will be a night to remember for Diego Leon.
Now for his club bow
Now, hopefully, he can return to Carrington with a lot of confidence, and try and earn a breakthrough before the season comes to a close.
In his United U21 debut, Leon looked raw, and was eventually hooked at half-time.
There have been murmurs that the club did the wrong thing by sending Amass out on loan instead of the South American.
He could even leave on loan in January, with the 20-time English league champions likely to take their time before thrusting him into the thick of the action.
Which effectively means more academy involvement, not the worst thing for an 18-year-old.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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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
