Man Utd reach agreement 'in principle' for Real Madrid target Leny Yoro

Manchester United have reached an agreement 'in principle' to sign Lille centre-back Leny Yoro, who remains a major transfer target for Real Madrid.

Yoro is only 18 years of age but has quickly established himself as a key player for Lille since his 2022 breakthrough. However, the French club are already resigned to selling this summer after he entered the final season of his current contract, with no desire to sign a new one.

The player’s preference for a move is long understood to be Real Madrid. But other clubs have maintained interest and that hasn't stopped United from making a formal approach.

Sky Sports report the offer made to Lille for Yoro is around €50m (£42.3m), which has been accepted. There is no comparable bid on the table from Madrid, who had been hoping to land Yoro on the cheap – FootMercato suggests the only offer from the Bernabeu is so far €20m (£17m).

According to Fabrizio Romano, Lille are urging Yoro to consider moving to Manchester instead because it represents the best proposal for them. But it seems he is waiting for Madrid to react and no deal will go ahead without the player agreeing to it.

United have been keeping options open in their drive to sign at least one centre-back ahead of 2024/25 after releasing Raphael Varane last month. Talks continue over personal terms with Matthijs de Ligt after Bayern Munich signalled a willingness to sell for a figure less than expected, while two offers for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite have been rejected so far.

The centre of defence gave manager Erik ten Hag an enormous headache last season, with a spate of injuries resulting in a lack of continuity. Lisandro Martinez missed most of the campaign due to three separate absences, while Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof also endured absences. By the end of the season, Casemiro was often filling in as an emergency centre-back.