Manchester United are on the verge of signing Leny Yoro after the young defender agreed to travel for a medical and finalize personal terms, according to a recent report.
Yoro, highly regarded as one of Europe’s top young centre-backs, had an impressive 2023/24 season with Lille.
At 18, Yoro has attracted attention from Real Madrid, but the Spanish giants have been hesitant to meet Lille’s £53m asking price.
With just one year remaining on his contract, Madrid hoped to secure him on a free transfer next year if no summer deal was reached.
United’s bid for Yoro was accepted by Lille last week, but the defender initially hesitated to move to Old Trafford, preferring a switch to Madrid.
However, David Ornstein of The Athletic now reports that Yoro’s transfer to United is close to completion. The young defender is set to head to England for a medical and to negotiate personal terms.
While an agreement is not yet final and “there is still work to be done”, United have made significant progress in securing one of their primary targets.
United are also interested in Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt and have had two bids rejected by Everton for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Though signing two centre-backs this summer is possible, it was learnt that any additional arrivals will likely depend on United offloading some players first.
Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee, who joined from Bologna last week, became the first signing of the INEOS era, and Yoro could soon be following suit.
