The news that Man Utd is recruiting Leny Yoro for 62 million euros has only appeared in the last 24 hours. Before that, Man Utd fans had no idea that their beloved team was pursuing this French midfielder.

Who is Leny Yoro?

Leny Yoro was born on November 13, 2005 in Saint-Maurice (France). Leny’s father is from the Ivory Coast. Leny Yoro joined Lille’s youth academy in 2017 at the age of 12. In 2022, Leny debuted for Lille’s reserve team and signed his first professional contract at the age of 16.

Leny Yoro made his debut for Lille’s first team on 14 May 2022, at the age of 16. At that time, Leny Yoro surpassed Eden Hazard to become the second youngest player to make his debut for Lille.

In the following season, Leny Yoro played a total of 13 Ligue 1 games and made an impression. Fonte’s departure at the end of the 2022/23 season left a gap in Lille’s defense, and Leny Yoro filled the void.

In the 2023/24 season, Yoro made 32 appearances for Lille, helping the team finish 4th in Ligue 1 and qualify for the Champions League qualifying round. Leny Yoro helped Lille have the 3rd best defense in the league, conceding only 34 goals. With his excellent performance for Lille, Leny Yoro was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season.

Standing at 1.90m tall, Leny Yoro has good aerial ability. In addition, this defender is also very skillful and once scored a volley against Rennes last September to become the youngest player to score for Lille in Ligue 1 in the past 10 years.

Paulo Fonseca, who coached Yoro at Lille, admitted: “It is unusual for an 18-year-old player like Leny to have such maturity and technical ability. For me, Leny Yoro will become one of the best central defenders in France and maybe in Europe. He is very complete. There is no doubt that Leny Yoro will be a great player.”

Meanwhile, Jean-Michel Vandamme, Lille’s academy director, highlighted Leny Yoro’s ability to read the game and follow tactics. “Leny is a quick learner. He wants to improve and is really interested in analyzing different situations ,” said Jean-Michel Vandamme. “When the coach and his assistants give him advice, Leny listens, absorbs it and applies it. The same happens when he receives advice from his teammates ,” added Jean-Michel Vandamme.

Leny Yoro also stands out for his ability to handle the ball as well as launch attacks from the defense. The French center-back also has the skill to escape pressing by dribbling. According to statistics, Leny Yoro is the only U23 defender in the Top 5 European National Championships last season with a successful aerial and one-on-one rate of over 60%, while his successful passing rate is over 90%.

Leny Yoro has only played for France’s U17, U18, U19 and U21 teams. The youngster has yet to play for the French national team.

Can Leny Yoro shine at Man Utd?

In France, Leny Yoro has been compared to top centre-backs such as Raphael Varane and William Saliba. The similarities between Yoro and Saliba are their willingness to attack and score. Saliba has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists for Arsenal in the last 2 seasons.

” In Marseille I knew Boubacar Kamara, in Saint-Etienne I knew William Saliba and Wesley Fofana, and now Leny Yoro,” said Lille midfielder Remy Cabella. Cabella said of Leny Yoro : “He has all the qualities and potential to achieve great things. Leny is very humble, and that is also one of his strengths.”

However, the fact that Man Utd spent more than 60 million euros to buy an 18-year-old player has made many people worried. Remember that Leny Yoro’s contract with Lille will expire next summer. The defender himself has refused to renew the contract because he wants to find a new challenge.

According to The Athletic, many European teams, including Real Madrid, are interested in Leny Yoro. However, Man Utd are faster than other clubs when they are about to win Leny Yoro. Coach Ten Hag’s team is looking at potential young players on the transfer market to build a squad for the future. Therefore, they have spent a lot of money to get Leny Yoro.

When he arrives at Man Utd, Leny Yoro will have to shoulder a big responsibility. Fellow centre-back Raphael Varane left Man Utd this summer. Leny Yoro may be arranged by coach Erik ten Hag to play as a centre-back with Lisandro Martinez in defence. However, it is also possible that the Dutch coach will let the new French player adapt to the team gradually and give Harry Maguire a chance in the first matches of the season. Regardless, the Dutch coach needs to find the optimal centre-back pair to improve Man Utd’s defence.

Compared to Ligue 1, the Premier League is much more difficult. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the 18-year-old defender has a huge challenge ahead.