'Clear intention to sign' - Sporting director confirms Manchester United transfer approach for player
Man Utd are looking to sign their first player for new head coach Ruben Amorim.
The sporting director of Cerro Porteno confirms Manchester United have made an approach to sign teenage defender Diego León.
It is understood United are close to an agreement with the Paraguayan club to sign the 17-year-old left-back next year, though he can't move to Manchester until he turns 18 in April.
United will pay an initial fee of in the region of £4 million, plus performance related add-ons, for the youngster, who will technically become the first new signing of Ruben Amorim's era in charge of the club. United view South America as a market where there are bargains to be had, with León viewed as one of the most promising teenage defenders in world football.
It remains to be seen when United might reach an official agreement with Cerro Porteno, though their new sporting director Gabriel Wainer has confirmed the interest, and also warned there are a number of other clubs looking at the teenager as well.
"Manchester United has a clear intention to sign Diego León, but the paperwork has not yet been finalised," he told reporters in Paraguay. "Other teams have also asked about León in the last few hours, but the one that has shown a letter of intent, without going into detail, was Manchester United.”
Earlier in the day, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed a deal was 'almost done' with United technical Jason Wilcox tasked to complete the deal following Dan Ashworth's exit from the club last weekend.