Leny Yoro is Manchester United’s second signing of the summer after Joshua Zirkzee. We analysed what the defender will bring to Old Trafford.
If there was one area in the Manchester United squad you could virtually guarantee would see reinforcements this summer, it would’ve been at centre-back. And after weeks of speculation around a few names, they’ve finally made a decisive move.
While there’s still apparently a chance their pursuits of Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs de Ligt could continue in another summer of transition, young French defender Leny Yoro has ultimately become their big bet in that department.
United of course had nightmares in that part of the team in 2023-24. Manager Erik ten Hag was unable to field a regular centre-back pairing due to injuries and unavailability, and there was often a feeling that that lack of stability was contributing to their issues in other areas of the pitch.
Their most regular partnership at the heart of the defence last season was Raphaël Varane and Jonny Evans, but they only started together six times in the Premier League. To put that into perspective, Arsenal fielded Williams Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães together at centre-back in 34 league games, and they were ultimately key to the Gunners’ title challenge and the fact they conceded the fewest goals (29).
Now, in that example it obviously helps that both are extremely good footballers, not just brilliant defenders. But it stands to reason that a stable centre-back partnership breeds a certain level of confidence. What made matters worse for United was the fact Evans ended up playing 23 times in the league; although he largely acquitted himself well, he was initially only signed as an emergency backup player after re-joining on a short-term deal in pre-season last year.
That a then-35-year-old who hadn’t even been a regular in a relegated Leicester City team ended up playing so frequently for United was a damning indictment of their transfer policies of recent years. However, the arrival of Yoro arguably reflects the regime change that’s occurred at Old Trafford since last summer, with the expensive and injury-prone Varane also allowed to leave following the expiration of his contract.
Yoro is only 18 but has already played 46 league games at senior level for Lille, with the teenager regarded by many as one of the most promising young defenders in world football. While he first gained regular exposure to senior-level football in the 2022-23 campaign, it was in 2023-24 that he stepped up to become one of the team’s leading players.
According to widespread reports, Yoro stands to cost United an initial £54 million. There’s no getting away from the fact it’s a lot of money for any player, let alone an 18-year-old. That in itself is going to bring with it certain expectations and pressure that are likely to test the youngster, but the consensus is his potential is vast.
Several aspects of his game stand out almost immediately. For starters, he’s tall at 6-foot-3 but he’s also quick, a valuable combination at centre-back particularly in this day and age given how many teams like to press high and therefore deploy a high line.
Yoro has long legs and uses them to his advantage, making a habit of prodding the ball away seemingly from out of nowhere either when an attacker is attempting to shield or looking to run in behind.
Of course, it’s not too dissimilar to what Aaron Wan-Bissaka might often be seen doing, though with Yoro there rarely tends to be the same level of desperation involved, appearing rather more in control of such situations.
On that note, above all he’s a composed and graceful centre-back. Considering his position, nationality, build and who he appears to be replacing, it won’t be surprising to see fans compare Yoro with Varane.
“When I saw him, I saw Raphaël Varane,” Lille academy director Jean-Michel Vandamme told Le Parisien regarding the first time he watched Yoro in action. “[He has] the same attitude, the same dedication, the same maturity at the same age, the same body shape. He’s a godsend.”
Although the radar below doesn’t show them as an exact match, teams styles have an impact here – for instance, United were so porous defensively last season that Varane was more active defensively. Either way, there are clearly similarities in output and style.
As for analysis of Yoro’s maturity, many have made similar comments during his fledgling career, including the coach who arguably knows him best, now former Lille boss Paulo Fonseca.
“It’s not normal to have an 18-year-old like Leny, with the maturity and technical qualities he has,” Fonseca said late last year. “For me, he’ll be one of the best central defenders in France and probably all of Europe. He’s very well-balanced and there’s no doubt he’s going to be a great player.”
That maturity and technical ability can be seen together in his passing; Yoro is used to seeing plenty of the ball, with his 63.2 passes per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season seeing him rank 15th among defenders.
In open play, he boasted a 91.9% pass completion rate, which was bettered by only three centre-backs to attempt at least 1,000 passes, and all three play for Paris Saint-Germain (Marquinhos, Danilo and Milan Skriniar).
Yoro’s dependable in possession and therefore an assuring presence when on the ball. Of course, such a high completion rate for centre-backs often highlights a lack of riskiness in passing, and the 18-year-old can’t really be considered routinely adventurous.
With 42 open-play progressive passes over the season, that accounted for just 2.3% of his overall total, putting him at the very bottom among centre-backs to play at least 200 passes. This obviously suggests a significant focus on safe passes to nearby teammates rather than between the lines to players in more advanced areas.
But playing safe needn’t be construed as being inherently bad, nor should Yoro’s passing ability or range be dismissed purely on this basis, because you don’t need to watch him for long to see he’s clearly technically very proficient – as Fonseca alluded to.
In fact, among centre-backs to attempt at least 100 long passes, Yoro’s 51.4% completion rate was the 11th best in Ligue 1 last season, while he was the only central defender to attempt more than three switches of play (11) who completed 100% of them.
So, while Yoro’s distribution may not provide the most progressiveness, he offers genuine reliability on the ball and the maturity to understand that playing safe needn’t be a bad thing. Furthermore, he possesses the technical qualities to be more adventurous when he feels the opportunities are there or it’s necessary to be.
Yoro’s attitude appears to be similar in terms of his decisions around carrying the ball. On average, he carried the ball 8.9 metres and progressed the play 3.8m when running with the ball last season; both figures are below the Ligue 1 average among centre-backs.
Furthermore, with only 44.2% of his ball carries classed as progressive, he also came in below the league average for centre-backs in this metric.
But we have to remember being progressive either through passes or carries doesn’t necessarily equate to a centre-back being great; it obviously depends on the role they’re asked to play.
It’s also important we don’t lose sight of the most important fact in all of this: Yoro’s only 18. He’s managed to prove himself to be a very competent and reliable passer already, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t improve as a progressor of play as he develops.
It helps that he already appears to be a very astute defender. His pace, as mentioned before, is obviously a great help because it allows him to recover quickly and provides his team with a notable counter to fast runners in behind. But on top of that, it enables him to keep up with the twists and turns of agile forwards trying to gain an inch in one-one-one duels, and Yoro’s brilliant job on Kylian Mbappé in December’s 1-1 draw was evidence of how effective he can be.
He wasn’t the Lille centre-back who engaged the opposition first most often last season, quite often taking up the role of sweeping up – perhaps a little like Varane – but Yoro’s 62.7% success rate in ground duels was the 11th best among central defenders (minimum 900 minutes played) last term, while his 69.4% tackle success was bettered by only six centre-backs.
Another positive that isn’t unrelated to Yoro’s actions in duels is the fact he averaged just 0.7 fouls conceded per 90 minutes last season, putting him among the cleanest centre-backs in Ligue 1. Considering he’s likely to be playing alongside the rather more brutish Lisandro Martínez, this can only be seen as a positive and potentially even another sign of Yoro’s maturity.
Yoro also had a respectable record in aerial duels, winning 64.9%. While not quite good enough to break into the top 10 among centre-halves, it should be pointed out that it’s a pretty solid return for a player who some feel still looks a little slight. If that’s the base he’s working from, Yoro could become a very imposing figure if he continues to bulk up, as he almost certainly will.
And therein lies one of the key elements of this signing: Yoro’s only just getting started. The 18-year-old has had French football experts raving about him for a while now, and there’s already an unmistakable controlled assertiveness to the way he plays that’s impossible to ignore.
No player is ever a guarantee, and a move to the Premier League will undoubtedly provide Yoro with a thorough examination both technically and physically. But he already looks a class act and has obvious areas for growth, which is a promising start.
Fans will hope he isn’t the only new centre-back arrival, and that a slightly more experienced signing such as De Ligt allows Yoro more time to develop. But if United nurture him well, and they’ve a good track record of doing just that with young players, they might be about to shore up one spot in their back four for the foreseeable future.
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