Man Utd's new Paraguayan wonderkid: Everything you need to know about rising star

Manchester United are set to win the battle to sign Paraguayan starlet Diego Leon.

Here is all you need to know about the lightning fast left-back who could arrive at Old Trafford for a fee of less than £4million.

In recent years United have splashed out vast amounts of money for players that have not delivered.

While the arrival of INEOS didn't halt the spending last summer it does appear as though Jim Ratcliffe is trying to cut costs across the board.

Forget the £100m signings of the past; the new United are all about value for money.

And while some fans may bemoan the end of the free-spending era, it's about time the club started to think smarter, not just harder.

The recent decision to slash staff bonuses and increase ticket prices for ordinary fans while simultaneously rewarding underperforming players with exorbitant contracts was a PR disaster.

But this new focus on shrewd recruitment? That's a step in the right direction.

The 17-year-old left-back with a rocket strapped to his boots, is set to join United in 2025 for a bargain fee of just $4million.

Forget the astronomical fees splashed out on the likes of Antony and Casemiro – this is how you do business in the modern game.

Leon is a raw talent, a whirlwind of energy and aggression down the left flank.

He's already a regular for Cerro Porteno, showcasing maturity beyond his years with his tenacious tackling and impressive attacking instincts.

With Luke Shaw perpetually on the injury table and Tyrell Malacia struggling to find consistency, Leon offers a long-term solution at left-back.

A year of further development in Paraguay will only serve to hone his raw talent, allowing him to arrive at Old Trafford ready to make an impact.

This signing represents a shift in United's transfer strategy. Gone are the days of panic buys and overpriced superstars. Now, the focus is on identifying and nurturing young talent, a strategy that has served many of Europe's top clubs with great success.

Whether Leon can live up to the hype remains to be seen, but this shrewd piece of business suggests that the INEOS era at United might not be as doom and gloom as some fans feared.

But former United player Michael Owen has criticised the cost-cutting measures implemented by Ratcliffe at Old Trafford calling the impact on staff as 'heartbreaking.'

The restructuring has led to the redundancy of 250 members of staff, increases in ticket prices, and ending Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassadorial agreement.

This, along with the sometimes costly management changes, has drastically changed the face of the club.

Owen, who holds 52 caps for Manchester United, has echoed many fans' sentiments, stating, "When I was at Manchester United... if you go back now it's literally all been ripped out."

The major changes have left the club unrecognizable to many, with him adding, "The badge is still the same and the bricks and mortar are still the same, but inside it's just totally different."