Who is Leny Yoro? The towering French stalwart Man Utd are set to solidify defence with

Leny Yoro is a teenage French centre-back on the verge of joining Manchester United after starring for Ligue 1 side Lille.

Despite his young age, his impressive performances at the heart of defence have alerted top Premier League clubs (as well as Real Madrid) to stand up and take notice.

The race for Yoro’s signature has narrowed down to being between Man Utd and Real Madrid, but it is the Premier League side who are closing in on his signing after booking him in for a medical.

TEAMtalk sources revealed as far back as December that Manchester United had registered an interest in Yoro, along with other rival suitors at the time (like Liverpool and Tottenham) looking towards the future of their defence.

Yoro became one of the first names on the teamsheet for Lille last season as Les Dogues finished fourth in the Ligue 1 table with the joint third-best defence in the league.

A more peripheral figure the prior campaign, following the departure of 39-year-old veteran Jose Fonte last summer, a gap in the Lille defence presented itself next to the Brazilian Alexsandro Ribeiro and Yoro took the opportunity with both hands.

Yoro’s career so far

Born and raised in France, Yoro is of Ivorian descent through his father. He has chosen to represent the country of his birth at four different youth levels but still has the chance to play for Ivory Coast at senior level.

He joined Lille’s youth ranks in 2017 at the age of 12 and has since progressed to the first team. In 2022 he debuted for the Lille reserve side and signed his first professional contract shortly after at the age of 16.

Yoro made his first-team debut on 14 May 2022, while still just 16 years old, and became the club’s second youngest-ever debutant, taking the place of a certain Eden Hazard.

In the following campaign, he would be in and out of the squad, making 13 appearances in total but impressing on each occasion and the departure of Fonte at the end of the 2022/23 season opened a spot at the back, in which Yoro excelled in taking up the mantle.

In the 2023/24 season, Yoro made 32 appearances in the league, out of a possible 34. After missing the opening fixture which was a 1-1 draw away at Nice and following Alexsandro’s dismissal at home to Nantes, Yoro was thrust into the starting eleven away at Lorient where Les Dogues would fall to a 4-1 defeat.

From thereon, Yoro firmly established himself as the starting centre-back alongside Alexsandro and matched the number of appearances he made the previous season as early as December.

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What is Yoro like as a player?

Standing at 1.90m (6ft 3), Yoro, despite his age, is already one of the tallest players on whatever pitch he steps on and his size enables him to be a threat in both boxes, scoring twice in the 2023/24 Ligue 1, both with his head.

Under Paulo Fonseca, who has since been appointed by AC Milan, Lille averaged over 56% possession last season and the 18-year-old was a key component in why they could dominate the ball.

Les Dogues were able to play with a high line because of Yoro’s athletic and technical ability. He is able to distribute the ball out of the defence in multiple ways, draw defenders in and bypass the press and sweep any balls away that gets played in behind because of his pace.

Yoro is comfortable on the ball and when pressed he uses his frame to shield the ball from the opposition, where his technical ability shines as he can keep close control of the ball before passing to a teammate or putting the ball out of play and away from danger.

His extensive passing range allows him to switch the ball to wide areas with accuracy from deep and enabled Lille to switch from a shorter passing style to a more direct way of progressing the ball whenever it suited.

Sometimes Yoro is prone to clearing the ball when he has more time to control it and regain possession for his side, which is an area he can improve on, but age is firmly on his side.

The Frenchman is also prone to man marking a certain player tightly which if exploited can leave gaps in the defence should the opposition player Yoro is marking get the better of him. Again, Yoro has ample time to improve upon this.

Why do Man Utd want Yoro?

Yoro became the subject of interest from numerous Premier League clubs and with his contract running until the summer of 2025, a move to England could be close on the horizon.

Lille have been a factory for talent throughout the past couple of decades with players such as Victor Osimhen, Sven Botman, Rafael Leao and Gabriel Magalhaes all departing for significant fees after developing in the north of France.

Lille were tempted into a sale for Yoro when accepting a bid from Man Utd worth up to €62m (£52m), of which €50m (£42m) would be a fixed fee.

Last season, although they won the FA Cup, Man Utd’s defensive woes increasingly stunted any progress Erik ten Hag’s side were attempting to make.

Man Utd finished on a negative goal difference in the Premier League, a major contributing factor in them only coming eighth in the table – a record low for the modern era.

While problems at both ends of the pitch contributed to that, their defence has been identified as an area to solidify, potentially with two signings, of which Yoro could be the first.

They have since released Raphael Varane at the end of his contract, while also selling younger prospect Willy Kambwala to Villarreal.

A move to the more youthful and dependable Yoro would solidify their defence for years to come.