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Lenny Yoro (Source: X)
According to recent reports, Manchester United are leading the race to sign French defender Leny Yoro. Meanwhile, Leny Yoro is set to fly to the United Kingdom to have a medical test and contact signing at Manchester United. The deal is over 50 million euros to sign him at Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Leny Yoro's first preference was to join Real Madrid. However, later he chose Manchester United over Real Madrid. Ligue 1 club Lille was interested in selling him rather than losing another player on a free transfer as his contract is going to end in 2025 June.
So far, Leny Yoro has played 60 games for Lille across all tournaments. Manchester United's agreement is for an initial €50 million plus €12 million in add-ons. Madrid is said to value the 18-year-old less and may be willing to wait until next summer, when he will be a free agency, thus the Ligue 1 club want Yoro to join United. Yoro is predominantly a centre-back who made his Lille debut in May 2022 at the age of sixteen. He is the club's second-youngest player.
Meanwhile Joshua Zirkzee as become United's first signing of the summer for €42 million, while Ten Hag remains interested in Paris Saint-Germain defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte. If everything goes as planned, United will have secured their major aim to reinforce their defence, as well as a player widely considered as a generational prospect.
Real Madrid needs to explore a defensive line
The Premier League team continues to admire possibilities like the Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich and Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, however, a further signing is likely to be contingent on departures to free up financial and squad space.
Real Madrid will need to explore elsewhere for a center-back if Leny Yoro joins Manchester United. The only centre back in Madrid presently available are Rudiger and Militao, therefore the squad will need extra players for their defensive line after Nacho's departure and Alaba's injury.