Carrick Impressed by Youngster in Line for First-Team Chance Ahead of Luke Shaw

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has been impressed by Diego Leon's performances and is considering integrating him into the first-team squad, according to various reports. The 19-year-old Paraguayan joined Old Trafford a year ago in a €4 million deal, but after featuring in initial friendlies under Ruben Amorim, he was sent to continue his development with the youth side. Leon operates at left-back, a position that has been a major headache for the Red Devils, with Luke Shaw as the only specialist option, while recent experiment Patrick Dorgu struggled for consistency and made costly errors.

Leon caught Carrick's eye with his work rate at both ends of the pitch and his determination during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne—a match that also saw new signing Carlos Baleba make his debut. The youngster could now be called up to train with the first team and might be handed a senior opportunity given Luke Shaw's persistent injury struggles.