Man Utd signed Diego Leon in the summer transfer window and the youngster has made progress in the academy.
Diego Leon is pictured at Carrington.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
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Diego Leon's future is up in the air ahead of the January transfer window. Leon has exclusively played in Manchester United academy fixtures this season and staff have been pleased with his progress.
That does not necessarily mean Leon will receive an appropriate loan offer in the January window. The youngster has played for the Under-21s and interest may be thin on the ground.
Leon's representative, Renato Bittar, spoke in Paraguay about January, saying: "We still don't have it clear if he's going to go out on loan now, we have to keep watching. He's evolving and that's positive."
Bittar added that it “would not be ideal” to interrupt his current season with a move away.
For Leon to leave in the winter window, a club would have to submit a convincing development plan with the promise of regular game time, which could be unlikely to arrive in the middle of the campaign.
It's understood that coaches believe Leon has plenty to work on. Academy fixtures have helped Leon improve, while staying in the building would allow him to continue joining first-team training sessions.
United unveiled Leon as a first-team signing alongside Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko in August. The defender was included in the United States pre-season tour squad in the summer.
Ruben Amorim has named Leon in matchday squads against Grimsby Town, Manchester City, Brentford and Sunderland this season, but he has not made his senior debut.
Leon completed a medical to finalise his move from Paraguay side Cerro Porteno in January, but the deal outlined that he would move to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
United agreed a £3.3million fee, rising to £7m with add-ons, to sign the young defender.
Before Leon travelled to Manchester, he spoke to local journalists at an airport in Paraguay, saying: “I’m going to kill it in the pre-season, and within one or two games, I’ll already be playing with them [first-team]."
The youngster's transfer made headlines in his homeland and Leon discussed the impact of his move.
"For Paraguay, to have a player playing here at United is huge," he told club media. "I think for Paraguayans, they’re very proud to have someone from there playing in a club as big as Manchester United.
"It is an amazing, unique feeling to represent your country for all the people of Paraguay. I don’t know, it has no explanation - for my family it is an immense sense of pride to see me play with my national team."