Manchester United want to steal signing of £41 million-rated defender ahead of Real Madrid: Reports

Manchester United are allegedly set to battle it out with Real Madrid in the transfer race to sign LOSC Lille star Leny Yoro ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

Yoro, who turned 18 last November, has emerged as one of the best young centre-backs in Europe in the ongoing season. He has helped Lille record a whopping 19 clean sheets in 33 appearances across all competitions, contributing three goals in the process so far.

Now, according to TEAMtalk, Manchester United have identified Yoro as a primary defensive target as they have conceded 59 goals in 39 overall outings this season. They are confident about beating La Liga giants Real Madrid in their pursuit of the £41 million-rated star.

Should Yoro join Manchester United this summer, he could pop up as a key starter. He could start over veteran pair Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire, both of whom have allegedly been linked with a move away.

On the other hand, Yoro would pop up as a rotational player at Real Madrid should he decide to join them. He would provide healthy competition for places to Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and David Alaba too.

Pundit lauds Real Madrid for offloading two stars to Manchester United at the right time

Speaking recently on CBS Sports, Arsenal great Thierry Henry lauded Real Madrid for selling Casemiro and Raphael Varane to Manchester United at the correct time. He said (h/t Football Transfers):

"The one thing they do ever so well is they know when to get rid of players. I am not talking about the players that are logical to get rid of. I am talking about it was time for [Cristiano] Ronaldo. It was time for Casemiro... for [Mesut] Ozil. It was time for Varane, which was more, I think, of a knee issue, if I understand well."

Explaining why Los Blancos offloaded Casemiro in 2022, Henry added:

"But if you think about those three – [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos and Casemiro – they sold the youngest one. Why would you sell the youngest one? Well, they noticed that those two can help [Federico] Valverde, [Aurelien] Tchouameni, and [Eduardo] Camavinga."

Casemiro, who turned 32 last month, proved to be a fine signing for Erik ten Hag's side last campaign as his club lifted the 2022-23 EFL Cup trophy. However, he has suffered a dip in form in the ongoing season.

Varane, on the other hand, has also struggled to maintain consistency in his club's backline of late. With his deal set to expire in June 2025, the 30-year-old could be offloaded in the upcoming summer window.