What would Lille’s Leny Yoro bring to Manchester United?

With Paulo Fonseca having left for AC Milan, this summer is about to mark the end of an era at Lille. While Jonathan David, Angel Gomes, and Leny Yoro’s contracts will all expire next summer, Les Dogues will look to cash in on their talented players, whose valuations rise despite their contract situations. Despite his long-standing interest in Real Madrid and multiple offers from the Spanish giants and approaches from Liverpool and PSG, Yoro seems to be closer to the Premier League and Manchester United. The Red Devils have sent a €62M proposal to Lille for their talented defender. A fee far above any hopes for the club from the North of France, and that left the choice to the Paris suburbs-born player.

A move to Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United would fit the club’s new ambitious strategy after INEOS’ takeover. Being only 18, Leny Yoro is a long-term buy, but his past season proved that he is already set to compete at the highest level. Since rising through the club’s academy ranks, Yoro has always been considered a wonderkid ready to blow up. Sky rocketing into Lille’s first team during the 2022-23 season, it was during this past season that the French defender took his standards to another level. Selected into the Ligue 1’s team of the year, Yoro imposed himself as a guarantee starter despite his age and one of Lille’s most reliable and consistent players.

A meteoric rise under Paulo Fonseca’s orders

Under Paulo Fonseca’s last season in charge, Lille’s results have been full of ups and downs. While the ultimate fourth-place finish meets the initial expectations, there is still a lot of frustration that comes out of it. A nightmarish 3-4 home defeat against Olympique Lyonnais despite leading 2-0 at half-time and 3-2 at the 88th minute, followed by a draw conceded at the very last minute of the final day at home against OGC Nice prevented the club from catching an automatic qualification for the UEFA Champions League, forcing them to go through the third qualifying round and a potential playoff to grab their ticket for the group stage. One of the reasons for this disappointing end of the season could be a lack of experience from a very young squad that Paulo Fonseca managed to build and bring to a top level throughout his tenure at Lille.

Loyal to his principle of positionalism, the Portuguese tactician has set-up his team in a 4231, with Yoro playing as a right centre back. Out of possession, he would stay down as the last defender in a compact 4231, with the double pivots ordered to man-mark the opponent’s midfielder. The compactness of the squad on the pitch was intended to force the opposition to play wide and restrain them from attempting cross from the flanks. With his 190cm, Yoro would excel at keeping the danger away by taking the best out of his rival in an aerial duel. Last season, the defender ranked as the fifth-best player in aerial duels in Ligue 1, an ability that couldn’t be more appreciated at Manchester United and would reinforce the complementarity that Yoro could have with Lisandro Martinez, who tends to lack physicality in this area. When they had the ball, Fonseca’s team would mostly switch into a 3421, with Yoro playing on the right side of this back three to try to serve perfectly his full backs, who would make a deep run forward.

A readymade talent with still room for improvement

While he showed amazing capacities out of possession, Yoro’s contribution in the build-up play is not as impactful. At Lille, the French defender rarely took any risks with long passes to break the lines and mostly played at short distances in his own half towards his teammates in defence or the double pivots. While he rarely misses a pass and has great capacity to read the game, he favours playing safely and leaving the build up to his teammate so that he can stay back and keep an eye on any potential counter-attacks, another area in which he has been a standout player last season, being one of the best interceptors in Ligue 1 while committing barely any foul per game. Yoro isn’t only at ease on the ball, but he also showed amazing capabilities to keep his calm and not defend aggressively despite the ongoing pressure of being the last defender. With him as a starter, Lille’s defensive record improved a lot, being the joint third-best defence last season in Ligue 1 with 34 goals conceded.

Another concern in Yoro’s transfer would be his lack of experience in a Premier League where most defenders are either older or more physically fit. The French defender also lacks proper European experience, with last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League run being his sole European encounter. However, facing Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, the right-footed defender seemed at ease despite an ultimate elimination after a cruel penalty shootout. Operating as the covering defender in Lille’s back line, Yoro isn’t the kind of player who tackles the most, showing a propensity for standing interception rather than taking the risks of a slide tackle and leaving his keeper on a one vs one should he fail to stop his opponent regularly.

All in all, Leny Yoro’s maturity despite his young age proves that he could be ready enough to take the Premier League by storm and form an ideal duo with Lisandro Martinez, whether it is by the skills, the potential tactical setup, or the lack of Martinez’s aerial duel abilities. However, he would probably not fit as well alongside Harry Maguire, as both of them do not attempt many carries forward, which would disrupt Manchester United’s build-up play. A transfer would come at a massive price tag but could be a welcome addition in this promising new era that begins at Manchester United following INEOS’ takeover.   

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux