Man United sign £7m South American wonderkid, 18, as Ruben Amorim’s second summer recruit

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Paraguayan teenage sensation Diego Leon ahead of next week’s pre-season training.

United agreed a deal worth up to £7million to sign the 18-year-old defender from Cerro Porteno, making him the club’s second  summer addition after they brought Matheus Cunha over from Wolves for £62.5m last month.

While Leon is determined to fight for his spot, it is expected that Ruben Amorim and his coaching staff will monitor him in pre-season before deciding whether to include him in the first-team squad or send him out on loan.

United beat out the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City to sign Leon, who first garnered attention from these Premier League giants at the end of last year.

At left back, Leon will fill the upcoming void ahead of Tyrell Malacia’s anticipated exit.

The Dutchman, along with four other United stars, were told to stay away from the training ground when the rest of the squad report for pre-season on Monday.

Ruben Amorim will decide to keep or loan the 18-year-old based on his pre-season displays

Leon said he has no interest in going out on loan and believes it will only take him ‘one or two games’ to settle into the first team

These include: Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony. 

Leon already issued some fighting words earlier this week regarding a loan move away from United, which could be useful to help hone his skills before he’s chucked into the deep end of the English top-flight. 

But Leon has no interest in taking things slowly. ‘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 [the first team].’