Diego Leon says he’ll persuade Ruben Amorim to maintain him at Manchester United by making a direct impression and ‘killing it’ in pre-season.
The 18-year-old left wing-back, widely regarded to be amongst essentially the most exciting teenage talents in South American football, is anticipated to finalise a transfer move to United over the approaching days.
The Red Devils agreed a £3.4million take care of Paraguayan outfit Cerro Porteno for Leon earlier this 12 months and the teen was pictured catching a flight to the north west of England today to sign on the dotted line at Old Trafford.
It’s understood the Paraguay Under-20 international will put pen to paper on a five-year contract on the Theatre of Dreams, tying him to the club until June 2030.
Given his tenders years, the expectation has been for Leon to be eased intothe fold, before making the step up into Amorim’s first-team squad sooner or later.
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There has also been some talk that Leon might be immediately loaned out to make sure the full-back is guaranteed regular minutes and his development will not be hampered.
But chatting with journalist Matias Cuevas before catching his flight to England, Leon insisted he had no intention of going anywhere else on a short lived basis next season.
‘The sensations are inexplicable. You’re feeling so many things. The reality is, I’m very glad, very glad to be there,’ Leon said.
‘I feel every player dreams of this and I actually have the chance,
‘I’m going to kill it in pre-season and in a single or two games I’ll be fidgeting with them.’
While Leon admits he could have to rapidly ‘adapt’ to life in a brand new environment, he’s confident he’ll reach ‘the highest’ down the road.
He added: ‘Thank God for the chance. I feel it was a bit quick too, but hey, you might have to adapt quickly when you’re there.
‘I’m already knowledgeable. You’ve to adapt quickly.
‘I’ll must adapt a bit to the climate, the language, and all that. I actually have plenty of confidence in myself.
‘I’m going to be at the highest with them. Now with the religion intact that I can succeed.’
Leon’s father, Basilio, called on the teenager to understand the chance with each hands as he spoke alongside his son on the airport.
‘Don’t fiddle, my son,’ he said.
Take advantage of these 4 years. Don’t make any mistakes.’
Matheus Cunha stays United’s only other piece of transfer business this summer, with the Brazilian attacking joining in a £62.5m move from Wolves last month.
But determined to make up ground on the Premier League after a wretched campaign, the Red Devils want to strengthen Amorim’s squad from back to front.
After missing out on Liam Delap, it’s believed England duo Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins are being eyed as possible targets with a view to providing competition for Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee up front.
Old Trafford bosses are also prioritising a move for a goalkeeper to interchange the error-prone Andre Onana and the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Bart Verbruggen, Diogo Costa and Lucas Chevalier have all being linked in recent weeks.
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