Manchester United agree deal for first Ruben Amorim signing: report

Ruben Amorim the manager of Manchester United looks dejected after the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Old Trafford on December 07, 2024 in Manchester, England.
Ruben Amorim has his first buy at United (Image credit: Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Manchester United have made their first signing of the Ruben Amorim era.

The Red Devils have so far only won the one fixture in the Premier League since hiring the Portuguese last month. Nottingham Forest beat Amorim's side comfortably last Saturday, before the news broke on Sunday of Dan Ashworth departing the club after mere months in the sporting director role.

Despite the recent tumult though, Manchester United have agreed their first transfer of their new regime, as Amorim looks to transform a tired squad.

Manchester United have agreed a deal for starlet

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS meets members of the press ahead of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to fund more signings (Image credit: Getty Images)

United are believed to want to make big signings next month but with financial restrictions, they may have to move players out of the door before they do so.

The likes of Antony and Marcus Rashford have been touted for sales – but a smaller transfer has been completed, as the 20-time English champions plan for the future under Amorim.

Manchester United winger Antony

Manchester United winger Antony could well be departing the club (Image credit: Getty Images)

After reports that teenage talent Diego Leon was in talks to join, Pedro Torres, a journalist in Paraguay, has reported that the deal has been agreed.

The fee keeps rising, however, with Paraguayan football expert Roberto Rojas claiming that United will pay $6 million. Journalist Uriel Iugt wrote a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the move was going to be $5m, shortly after Paraguayan outlet D Sports claimed just $4m.

“Can confirm left-back Diego Leon will officially join Manchester United in June 2025, once he turns 18, for a transfer fee of around $6m,” Rojas wrote. “Leon will play at Cerro Porteño for 6 more months before becoming the first ever Paraguayan to play for the Red Devils.”

FourFourTwo believes that though this is certainly one for the future, Sporting star Geovany Quenda is proof that Leon could well slot in straight away at Old Trafford.

Geovany Quenda of Sporting (R) runs with the ball during the match between Sporting CP and FC Porto at Estadio Municipal de Aveiro on August 3, 2024 in Aveiro, Portugal.

Geovany Quenda was given an early break by Amorim (Image credit: Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Ranked at no.39 in FourFourTwo's list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season, fellow wing-back Quenda became a regular under Amorim at 17. There's no reason that Leon couldn't follow with senior minutes next season – especially with the dearth of options in those positions right now.

Leon is only worth €1m, according to Transfermarkt. United take on Manchester City this weekend in the Manchester Derby when Premier League action resumes.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.