Manchester United have completed the signing of 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro from French Ligue 1 side Lille, the clubs confirmed Thursday.
United agreed a fee of €62 million ($67.6m), plus a potential €8m ($8.7m) in add-ons, to sign the France under-21 international, sources told ESPN.
Yoro has joined United despite interest from Real Madrid, after sources told ESPN that the Spanish side opted against engaging in a bidding war with the Premier League club for the centre-half.
Sources added that Yoro told Madrid of his intention to sign for United on Tuesday night after the Spanish club failed to make a move to sign him.
“Signing for a club with the stature and ambition of Manchester United so early in my career is an incredible honour,” Yoro said as part of the announcement. “Since my first conversations with the club, they set out a clear plan for how I can develop in Manchester as part of this exciting project, and showed a lot of care for me and my family.
“I know about the history of young players at Manchester United and feel it can be the perfect place to reach my potential and achieve my ambitions, together with my new teammates. I cannot wait to get started.”
The defender will join Joshua Zirkzee, who signed from Bologna on Sunday, at Old Trafford.
Both signings were supported by the club’s new football leadership put into place over the last few months following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner, as well as club scouts and manager Erik ten Hag, sources said.
“Leny is one of the most exciting young defenders in world football; he possesses every attribute needed to develop into a top-class centre-back,” Man United’s new sporting director Dan Ashworth said in a club statement. “Having had such an excellent start to his career we are excited to support him in reaching his immense potential here at Manchester United.
“This club has a fantastic record of developing young players, whether homegrown or brought in from elsewhere, and giving them the required guidance, time and patience to grow and flourish. Under Erik ten Hag and our excellent staff we will ensure that Leny has the perfect platform to achieve the success that everyone across the club is aiming for.”
Zirkee and Yoro effectively replace forward Anthony Martial and defender Raphaël Varane after the experienced duo departed the club earlier this summer.
The club has not ruled out making further defensive signings, sources told ESPN, with the club continuing to admire Bayern Munich‘s Matthijs de Ligt and Everton‘s Jarrad Branthwaite. However, the transfer fees remain a potential stumbling block with ESPN reporting that United have already had a £50 million ($64m) bid rejected for Branthwaite,
Yoro is regarded as one of the brightest young defensive talents in Europe after becoming a first-team regular at Lille. He made his senior debut as a 16-year-old at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Information from ESPN’s Mark Ogden contributed to this report.
