Diego Leon has yet to make his Manchester United debutplaceholder image
Diego Leon has yet to make his Manchester United debut | Getty Images
Man Utd signed the teenager last year but he has yet to make his first-team debut.
The 18-year-old completed his move to Manchester last summer after a deal had originally been agreed at the start of the year. Leon signed an initial five-year deal as part of a transfer fee that could eventually be worth as much as £7 million. United paid Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño an initial fee in the region of £3.2m, with add-ons that could eventually see it rise to a higher figure.
Leon was an unused substitute four time under former head coach Ruben Amorim but has not been named in a senior matchday squad since they defeated Sunderland in early October. He was considered for a potential loan exit during the winter window, before United decided his development would be best overseen by the club. The Paraguayan teenager has started seven of the last eight matches for the U21 and still uses the first-team training facilities.
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The teenage full-back has been taking regular English lessons and writing in a journal to help adapt to his surroundings, and recently surprised teammates when he held a long conversation with them in their native tongue.
“At the beginning it was a bit difficult, honestly. When I first arrived I didn’t understand any English," he told Versus Sports. "My girlfriend and I would go out and people would speak to us, and I felt very uncomfortable because they were talking and we didn’t understand anything. When I arrived at training the players wanted to talk to me and I couldn’t speak with them. That bothered me quite a lot. Then I told myself: I have to learn English."
Leon admitted he was surprised by the sheer intensity of the training sessions and has been told by head coach Michael Carrick that he must improve tactically before he can be trusted at senior level. Leon added: "He told me to stay calm, to try to improve tactically and to attack more often, but when I attack I also have to come back with the same intensity.
"It's pretty clear that I still have a way to go. I lack maturity, the physical aspect, the tactical and technical aspects, but I feel like I'm improving. They tell me to stay calm and that it's quite normal. They tell me that coming from Paraguay makes a huge difference. The Premier League isn't easy.
“The thing that surprised me the most was the intensity. On the first day we did a small-sided game. I went to press a player and before I could even get close, the ball was already behind me again. The speed of play forced him to adapt quickly. It was very fast. I realised straight away how big the difference is."
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