Ruben Amorim has a decision to make as he looks to improve Man Utd over the forthcoming campaign.
Diego Leon is not officially a Manchester United player yet, but he is already winning fans over. The 18-year-old left-back will finally complete his move from Cerro Porteño this week, after an agreement was reached for his signature at the start of the year. United will pay the Paraguayan club an initial fee of around £3.2m, with add-ons that could eventually see it rise to a higher figure.
The early expectation is Leon will feature for United in their pre-season schedule and could even be named in their squad for the Premier League Summer Series in the United States. There is also an acceptance he will need time to adapt to his new surroundings and the culture shock of moving to Europe, and could feature for the U21s in his debut season while training regularly with the first team.
Leon doesn't necessarily agree. The teenager has boldly vowed to 'kill it' in pre-season training and fight for a first-team spot right from the off. It is the elite mentality that will be required of him if he is to succeed at Old Trafford, plus, it might not be as wild a claim as you'd think.
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The left wing-back role is still open
Ruben Amorim currently has three options available to him at left wing-back next season. Patrick Dorgu was hailed as an 'exciting talent' with world-class potential when he joined from Lecce earlier in the year and it is still only early days in his Manchester United career to judge him fairly.
The 20-year-old has still only featured 20 times for his new club and has as many red cards as he does direct goal involvements. Dorgu still needs time to adapt and there is optimism he will be a much better player once he has experienced a full pre-season and is playing as part of a more cohesive and confident side.
At such a young age, he still needs guidance himself, though with Luke Shaw better-suited to a centre-back role, Dorgu will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders this season. The reduced fixture load should work in his favour, though the interesting dynamic is that there are two 18-year-old's behind him in the pecking order who are both desperate for first-team opportunities.
Diego Leon has already staked his claim with his bold statement of intent, while Harry Amass showed glimpses last season of what he could offer at senior level. The former Watford youngster does not lack technical ability, but struggled with the physicality of Premier League matches, with a loan exit not ruled out this summer.
It is still hard to say whether Amass would benefit more from a risky loan move to another club or whether he would be better off staying at Old Trafford as understudy to Dorgu, with sporadic first-team opportunities. Even then, those minutes might not be so certain if Leon manages to back up his bold words with the performances to match.
United have three options to play at left wing-back next season, and you could make a case for any of them.
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