Man Utd have officially announced the signing of Leny Yoro from Lille! The 18-year-old completed his medicals this afternoon before penning a 5-year deal that will see him stay at the club until June 2029. He does have the option to extend for a further year.
Despite it looking for all the money in the world that he was going to Real Madrid, it appears as though the young defender couldn't pass up the opportunity to be part of this new project under INEOS, Erik ten Hag and joining the biggest club in the world.
I believe he made the right choice, if I may say so myself 😏. I mean, red does suit him better, don't you think?
United completed this deal in no time as just four days after officially announcing new striker Joshua Zirkzee, the Red Devils unveiled their new centre-back on Thursday night.
Quite a busy few days at Old Trafford, indeed.
Reports suggest that Yoro grew tired of waiting for Real Madrid to propose a better offer than United which ultimately led to him choosing Manchester over Madrid.
With United also having reached a deal with Lille prior to agreeing personal terms with the player, it really was all up to the 18-year-old on which club he wanted to join.
But the fact that clubs such as Real Madrid and Liverpool were desperate for the youngster's signature indicates just what an amazing talent he is. With MUFC managing to pry him away from a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, it would show just how much INEOS mean business.
Yoro is a player who is nominated for the Golden Boy award after his exploits for Lille last season. He is ranked 5th with his now new team-mates Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho in that top 10 as well, the Englishman ranked 7th with the Argentine in 3rd.
Three of the top 10 golden boys in our side. Not bad, eh?
The 18-year-old was also ranked 5th for the teenager with the most minutes played in the 23/24 campaign with a total of 2672 under his belt which is 96 minutes more than what Garnacho managed last season.
Now that Yoro will play alongside Garnacho, it would mean that United are sorted for the future as the club have several young and talented players: Leny Yoro (18), Kobbie Mainoo (19), Alejandro Garnacho (20), Amad (22), Rasmus Hojlund (21), Joshua Zirkzee (23).
Even the likes of Diogo Dalot (25), Antony (24), Jadon Sancho (24) and the butcher Lisandro Martinez (26) aren't the oldest either. And with the club looking to do more business, this young age profile of players could increase should Matthijs De Ligt (24) and Manuel Ugarte (23) come in.
I'm liking this young United 👍.
Here's what Leny Yoro had to say about his move to United:
"Signing for a club with the stature and ambition of Manchester United so early in my career is an incredible honour.
Since my first conversations with the club, they set out a clear plan for how I can develop in Manchester as part of this exciting project, and showed a lot of care for me and my family."
He added that he knows about the history of the youth at United and feels that "it [MUFC] can be the perfect place to reach my potential and achieve my ambitions, together with my new team-mates.
I cannot wait to get started."
Real hunger shown by the young man. That's exactly what we want to see at United.
Dan Ashworth (Sporting Director) also had his say:
"Leny is one of the most exciting young defenders in world football; he possesses every attribute needed to develop into a top-class centre-back. Having had such an excellent start to his career, we are excited to support him in reaching his immense potential here at Manchester United.
This club has a fantastic record of developing young players, whether homegrown or brought in from elsewhere, and giving them the required guidance, time and patience to grow and flourish. Under Erik ten Hag and our excellent staff we will ensure that Leny has the perfect platform to achieve the success that everyone across the club is aiming for."
True words from the Sporting Director as well, who has done a brilliant job since coming to the club 👏.
Final Thoughts
More than anything, I'm impressed with the club in that they actually got this deal done. Whenever Real Madrid want a player and they want Real Madrid, other clubs should just forget about trying to bring them in.
This was apparently the thought process of rivals Liverpool in that they felt that it would be impossible to lure Yoro to Anfield when he desires to go to Madrid. So they gave up without even trying.
LFC fans were quick to let their club know that they weren't happy with United bringing in a player that they desperately wanted as #FSGOut was trending on X throughout Thursday, the day of Yoro's announcement.
So fair play to United and INEOS for pulling this one off, and pissing off some Liverpool fans along the way 👏.
On Leny Yoro himself, couldn't be happier. He wasn't a first-choice of mine but when considering all the other top clubs that were in for him, the fact that we got him in the end is remarkable. This is something that has been unknown to us for so long we'd almost forgotten that we could actually do this in the transfer window.
With him coming in, that also fills in another area where we needed to strengthen. Centre-back was (and still is) lacking in terms of quality in depth especially after Raphael Varane's departure.
With Willy Kambwala also kicking down from the club, this means we only have Lisandro Martinez (who is a little unreliable due to his injury issues), Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof (Magelof) - who aren't the best, and Jonny Evans who is a bit of an old goat even though he is a good player.
At least with Yoro, we bolstered that area which needed to be improved. Along with Joshua Zirkzee, I believe we've done two pieces of good business.
Welcome Leny Yoro to the greatest club in the world. You made the right choice.
Yanited ✊! Yanited ✊! Yanited ✊!
Background Image: Leny Yoro | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)