Lille centre-back Leny Yoro completes first part of Manchester United medical

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Lille’s Leny Yoro is set to complete a move to Manchester United following the completion of the first part of his medical.

The 18-year-old is now set to undergo more tests, before signing on to a five year deal with The Red Devils until 2029.

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, approval of the move was all that was needed from the Frenchman, with the two clubs already agreeing a deal last week worth an initial €62million.

Yoro initially preferred to join Real Madrid, but the Champions League holders were not willing to pay as high a fee as United, and, with Lille encouraging him to choose the more lucrative offer, he is now said to have ‘warmed’ to the idea of moving to the Manchester side.

United have been in pursuit of multiple centre-backs throughout the window so far – such as Bayern Munich’s Matthijs De Ligt and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, but have now seemed to seal a deal for their top target and one of the most promising centre-backs in world football

At just 18-years old, Yoro played more minutes than any other under-20 outfielder in Europe’s top five leagues last season, whilst, according to CIES’ experience capital metric – which assesses players’ based of their minutes played and level of league – he is the fifth most seasoned under-20 in the continent.

The French youth international displays this experience on the pitch too, where he exudes exceptional composure and confidence beyond his years. Although he;’s not the most progressive player yet, he has a fantastic ability to evade pressure through ball carries and dribbles, and retain possession with short passes.

Meanwhile, he specifically stands out off-the-ball. The athletic defenders’ slim, 6’3″ frame, lanky legs, and long strides mean he’s adept at stepping in front of attackers to intercept passes, proficient in the air, and most notably, exceptional in recovery and in sweeping up the space in behind a high-line – as he did throughout the previous Ligue 1 campaign under Paulo Fonseca.

As such, whilst he will need time to adapt to the English top flight, Yoro will be an exciting addition in both the short and long-term for Erik ten Hag’s side, as they look to improve the quality of their squad and their record-low eighth place finish last season.

The Old Trafford club are clearly showing their intentions to do so too, on-and-off the field. They have already signed Joshua Zirkzee for €40m from Bologna, re-signed Ten Hag to a new two-year-deal with new assistant head coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy, and brought in new and experienced management such as sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, as well as former Manchester City executive Omar Berrada as CEO.

Travis Levison | Get Football