Manchester United will surely invest in a new centre back this summer and we have seen a host of potential signings mentioned ahead of the transfer window.
United have spent plenty of money on centre backs over the years but just haven’t quite got it right.
Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane were all signed for decent fees but failed to truly live up to – admittedly very high – expectations.
Finding a partner for Lisandro Martinez has to be the priority, but United may also look at additional left-footed competition for Martinez given his injury woes.
The likes of Jarrad Branthwaite, Antonio Silva and Jean-Clair Todibo have all been mentioned in recent times with United possibly looking at younger talents under Ineos.
Ineos will know plenty about French football given their ownership of Nice and one Ligue 1 talent appears to be a key target for United…
Manchester United want Leny Yoro
Reports back in December suggested that United had made contact to sign Lille wonderkid Leny Yoro.
Those rumours continued in January with reports indicating that Ineos have a great relationship with Yoro’s agent Jorge Mendes.
Lille allegedly value Yoro at a huge £78million with the 18-year-old turning in some stunning performances in Ligue 1.
The 6ft 3in defender has racked up 37 appearances this season and has impressed with his pace and composure at the back.
One unnamed Premier League scout has compared Yoro to Rio Ferdinand, and the French teenager could yet follow in Ferdinand’s footsteps with a move to Old Trafford.
Lille boss on Yoro transfer
Paulo Fonseca, Yoro’s boss at Lille, has now delivered his verdict on the centre back’s future.
Fonseca has told BBC Sport that he believes Yoro will join one of the top clubs in Europe ‘in the next year’.
Fonseca is realistic about the situation, knowing that some of the biggest clubs around want Yoro, so this transfer prediction maybe isn’t a huge surprise.
The Lille boss notes that Yoro is ‘very ambitious’ and backs him to become one of the very best centre backs in world football.
“I believe Leny in the next year will be at one of the best clubs in Europe,” said Fonseca. “He started here at 16 with us. He is very ambitious, but very disciplined. He grew a lot but he is a kid with a big maturity, with big quality. He’s very focused, very concentrated, he wants to learn every day and I have no doubt in modern football he will be one of the best central defenders in the world,” he added.
£78million would be a huge price for Yoro, but he could become the rock of United’s defence for many, many years to come.
Ineos may hope that the relationship with Mendes can help United win the race and we would make Yoro a name to keep close tabs on as United consider investing big money in another centre back.