Sir Jim Ratcliffe has pushed for United to sign youngsters since his arrival (Image: Getty)
Manchester Unitedhave reportedly joined the race to sign South American youngster Diego Leon.
The defender only made his senior debut for Paraguayan side Club Cerro Porteno in August but has impressed over the past few months, and his performances have not gone unnoticed in his homeland as well as around Europe.
The Paraguayan left-back won the Player of the Month award previously, with his strong defensive attributes and willingness to bomb forward and be a presence in the final third catching the eye.
According to Fussball.News , United have already registered an interest in signing the 17-year-old, although they aren't the onlyPremier Leagueclub monitoring Leon's situation closely.
Manchester Cityhave also shortlisted the teenager as a target, withArsenalalso on his tail after being impressed by how he has hit the ground running at senior level.
Since the arrival ofSir Jim Ratcliffe, United have amended their transfer policy to ensure that youngsters around the world are signed and bedded into their youth system to ensure that they are primed to break into the first team when called upon.
The signing of Sekou Kone for a reported fee of £1million from Malian side Guidard FC was a sign of what is to come at Old Trafford over the coming years, as well as the arrival of Chido Obi-Martin fromArsenal.
Further youngsters are expected to arrive, and fending off the challenge of two of their rivals to sign the highly-regarded Leon would be a sign of intent from the Red Devils. With 11 appearances under his belt at the time of writing, it would also indicate an immense show of faith in the youngster.
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Harry Amass featured regularly for United in pre-season (Image: Getty)
However, if Leon opts to put pen to paper at the Theater of Dreams, it remains to be seen how it impacts those already in the United academy. With Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia struggling with respective injuries,Erik the Hagleaned on Harry Amass in pre-season and the 17-year-old was tipped to be United's next breakthrough star.
However, with Leon being the same age and playing as a left-back too, it remains to be seen whether Amass meets the potential that Ten Hag spoke about previously. He said: “in this moment he needs to catch up and he has to develop some of the skills needed to play forManchester United, when we are competing for the highest position in the league. But with big talent, he can go very quickly and it is very interesting to see if he is capable of doing this.”
