Real Madrid are about to end Manchester United’s hopes of signing generational talent Leny Yoro as they prepare an assault for the 18-year-old.
Los Blancos have always wanted the player but he was not a high enough priority for them to put their money where their mouth is until now.
And while the classy centre back had no end of suitors, including United, Liverpool, and Paris Saint Germain, the player himself reportedly has had his heart set on the Bernabeu and was reportedly not even willing to listen to any other offers.
But with Nacho’s departure for Qatar, Real now know they need a quality replacement and want to finalize a deal for the Frenchman quickly so that he can join their pre-season preparations beginning two weeks tomorrow.
Spanish outlet AS explains that “the stumbling block remains Lille. Their initial claim of 70 million euros is backed up by the 60 million euro offer from PSG.
“The first challenge is to try to generate a bidding war that Madrid will never enter.
“What’s more, since they have the ‘yes’ from Yoro, who along the way has been rejecting calls from Manchester United and Liverpool, the strategy is to negotiate downwards: 40 million as the ceiling, and if possible, including bonuses to postpone that final amount for several seasons.”
Although Lille would be desperate to get more for their star, ultimately they cannot force him to join a club he doesn’t want to join, and with his contract expiring in 12 months, los Merengues have them over a barrel.
Nonetheless, Real have lined up Riccardo Calafiori as an alternative should Lille refuse to yield.
However, as AS notes “Yoro prefers to leave now, Madrid also advocates for it and Lille would not strengthen PSG in Ligue 1. The circle is closing…”.
For United’s part, Yoro was always a long shot although there were a few fleeting days when some encouragement seemed to be offered.
Their attention, in any event, seems to have moved on to Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite also still very much wanted should Everton agree to soften their demands.
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