New Manchester United signing set for first-team breakthrough

Manchester United are preparing for their Saturday lunchtime meeting with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

This is the last game before November’s international break.

There will always the risk that players will come back injured after playing for their country.

There is also the players that travel far and with the Tottenham game being the earliest game of the weekend, this is even more of a possibility that United may rest some of their starters.

This would give some of the fringe players and youngsters a chance at first-team action.

One player who could benefit is summer signing Diego Leon, who is expected to step up after impressing under Manchester United under 18s coach Travis Binnion.

Leon arrived from Paraguayan side Cerro Porteno in the summer for a fee of £7 million.

He has made three appearances on Manchester United’s bench but is yet to make a senior appearance for the first team.

The man who signed to join United in December 2024 but only joined the club properly in the summer has been mainly a feature of United’s academy games, but there has been increased talk of his game time increasing with the youth set up.

Binnion spoke on the Diego Leon’s potential recently and said, “It is evident for all to see he has some real qualities and some strong foundations to his game that he has to build on.

“He is aware, we are all aware, he has stuff to work on, but to be fair to the kid, he has not played a full 90 minutes yet.

“We will be looking to tick that off pretty soon and that will be really good for him”.

An increase in playing time in the youth team is more likely to grab the attention of United manager Ruben Amorim.

As a result, Diego Leon could be in the first-team in the not so distant future.

South American journalist Christian Martin certainly shares this opinion.

“Diego Leon is going with the national team, right?” said Martin when speaking to Versus Sports Radio.

“They talked about it even though he’s with the U21s.

“At United he’s getting more and more involved with the first team.

“He’s definitely in United’s plans in the short and medium term”.

Manchester United fans will certainly be hoping that Diego Leon can kick on and forge his way into the first team.

The left wing-back position hasn’t been nailed down by anyone at the club and if Leon has fulfil his potential at Old Trafford, United might have a player to fill that spot for years to come.