Diego Leon set for Man United January transfer, ‘ideal’ next club has been named
Man United look set to sanction a loan exit for young defender Diego Leon in January with a potentially perfect destination earmarked.
Highly-rated defender Diego Leon officially joined Man United from Cerro Porteno in early July after they initially signed him for just £3.3million in January.
Leon displayed his talents to Ruben Amorim in pre-season with the first-team, but is yet to make his competitive senior bow and seems unlikely to do so anytime soon over Diogo Dalot or Patrick Dorgu.
He has instead been featuring for the Red Devils under-21 side, with one goal in six appearances across a number of different youth competitions so far.
With a first-team breakthrough seemingly not on the cards, despite United fans slating Dorgu for his performances, Leon’s potential next club with close ties to the Old Trafford club has now been named.
Leon wants loan move with OGC Nice his ‘ideal’ destination
According to a new report from the Daily Mail, Leon is now keen on the prospect of leaving Man United on loan in January despite having no intention to do when he first arrived in the summer.
French club Nice is seen as an “ideal destination” for the 18-year-old, given the ties between the two clubs and their need for new defensive additions.
United and Nice are both owned by INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the clubs can do business with each other after the ruling forbidding them from doing so ended in September.
The Athletic recently reported that Leon has formed a good bond with numerous members of United’s senior squad, and he trains with the first-team on a daily basis, so any potential loan away is unlikely to include further clauses that could see him leave United permanently.
What Amorim and Dorgu have said about Leon
United have done the right thing with Leon, as his pre-season performances showed promise but also that a lot of work still needs doing to get him up to speed with English football.
He has been involved with the first-team after sitting on the bench numerous times in the Premier League, but Amorim’s comments on him before the start of the campaign gave an idea about his plans for the teenager this season.
After Leon’s debut, he said: “We have to understand that the kid came from Paraguay and it’s the first week, the second week in Manchester United.
“He did really well, he’s learning things, he’s powerful. He’s going to be a very good player.”
Fellow full-back Dorgu also praised him following that clash against Leeds, as he said: “He’s a top, top player. He’s a good player, he’s good for everyone.
“Everyone has competition in their positions. Every player has two or three players in their position. It’s just going to help the team even more.”