Manchester United remain on the hunt for Lille centre-back Leny Yoro even as they continue to pursue other defensive targets.
United could sign up to two central defenders this summer in an effort to rejuvenate their backline ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 season.
At the moment, the club seems to be fully focused on getting a transfer for Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt over the line. It’s believed that De Ligt is open to joining United and the Dutchman has even been presented with a contract offer. Talks are currently ongoing with Bayern to try and reach an agreement over the transfer fee.
United’s opening bid for Jarrad Branthwaite significantly fell short of Everton’s £70m valuation of the England international and it remains to be seen whether Erik ten Hag’s side submit an improved proposal for him. It was recently stated that Branthwaite has been left agitated by the lack of progress on a deal to complete a switch to Old Trafford.
Another defender United opened talks for is 19-year-old Yoro.
The Red Devils would love to add Yoro to their ranks but the main problem is that the player prefers a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid.
A previous report covered by The Peoples Person however relayed that Madrid are not prepared to meet Lille’s asking price for Yoro and if need be, Los Blancos are even prepared to wait to sign their main man on a free in a year.
Despite it appearing that United are prioritising a deal for the likes of De Ligt and Branthwaite ahead of Yoro, David Ornstein of The Athletic has insisted that the 20-time English champions are still “actively” chasing the young Frenchman.
Ornstein however stressed that Madrid are still favourites to land Yoro.
Amidst all this, Mundo Deportivo revealed on Friday that Madrid have made it clear that they’re only willing to fork out £17 million (€20m) up front with the rest in add-ons.
This is not acceptable to Lille, who are thought to have already brought down their valuation to the £34m (€40m) mark.
MD added that the likes of United, Liverpool and PSG would all be ‘willing’ to pay the sum Lille want for Yoro. The hotly-contested race for the highly in-demand Yoro is certainly one to keep a close eye on.
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