Diego Leon faces loan decision after debut season lost to Manchester United's Under-21s

Diego Leon’s first season at Manchester United amounted to little more than a footnote — the 19-year-old Paraguayan signed for £3.3 million, rising to £7 million with add-ons, from Cerro Porteño last summer, yet never made the senior bench after October and played exclusively in academy fixtures throughout the campaign.

Leon was given a high-profile introduction when he was unveiled alongside Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford ahead of United’s final pre-season game, raising expectations that he would be part of the first-team picture. Ruben Amorim included him in four matchday squads at the start of the season, but the teenager disappeared from senior contention entirely as the months wore on.

The club’s decision to keep Leon with the Under-21s was deliberate — United wanted to give him time to develop specific areas of his game rather than rush him into senior football. A loan move in January was ruled out because he was still finding his feet in the U21 environment, but a temporary switch in 2026/27 is now considered the logical next step for his progression.

Leon will get a meaningful opportunity this summer, however. With United fielding 12 players at the World Cup, pre-season will be built around younger players impressing the coaching staff, and Carrick — now leading the first team following Amorim’s sacking — will have a close look at what Leon can offer.

Travis Binnion, who managed the Under-21s before being promoted to Carrick’s backroom staff, offered an encouraging assessment of Leon in November. “It is evident for all to see he has some real qualities and some strong foundations to his game that he has to build on,” Binnion said. “He is aware, we are all aware, he has stuff to work on but, to be fair to the kid, he has not played a full 90 minutes yet. If he can get a run of 90 minutes, then it is fair to look at his game and see where he is at. At this moment in time, he has shown real glimpses of promise and has fitted in with the group really well.”

Leon did earn his first senior international recognition this season, making his Paraguay debut as a substitute in a friendly against South Korea in October, though he was not selected for his nation’s World Cup squad. United signed him from South America on the belief that he carries genuine first-team potential — pre-season will be the first real test of whether that assessment still holds.