Manchester United have won Leny Yoro over, with the French wonderkid deciding to move to Old Trafford.

A week ago, reports emerged in France claiming Manchester United had struck a deal with Lille for Leny Yoro.

There was a lukewarm response to this when it emerged Yoro was holding out for his dream move to Real Madrid.

However, Real refused to match United’s offer, and Yoro has now decided to join Manchester United and turn his back on the idea of moving to Spain.

Leny YORO of LOSC during the UEFA Conference League Quarter-finals match between Lille and Aston Villa at Stade Pierre Mauroy on April 18, 2024 in ...
Photo by Hugo Pfeiffer/Icon Sport via Getty Images

Key to Leny Yoro deal

Manchester United made the more ‘aggressive’ pitch to sign Leny Yoro, promising him the chance to become a ‘superstar’ at the club, Fabrizio Romano explains.

Yoro flew to Manchester United 24 hours ago to undergo a medical at Carrington.

The next step for Yoro is to sign the contract and a deal is expected to be announced shortly, with Romano already giving his ‘here we go’.

Romano has explained that there is one key figure who helped to convince Yoro to take the deal, Lille president Olivier Letang.

He explained: “The president of Lille in the last seven days spent a lot of time talking directly to Leny Yoro.

“He has a very good relationship with Leny Yoro, and told him several times, ‘go to Manchester United’.

“He told him every single way, to convince the player to go to Manchester United, for him is the perfect solution, the president, he’s getting 50 million Euros for a player who is out of contract next summer.

“For Manchester United it was the only way, to reach the agreement immediately, to push on Lille, and to sign one of the best talents in the market.”

Lille made clear Yoro could leave

Lille have a special talent with Leny Yoro, but they allowed themselves to get into a weak spot with his contract.

Yoro was set to leave as a free agent in June 2025, and Lille were scared of losing their top talent on a free transfer.

Letang had made clear last month Yoro would be sold, but they probably expected more of a bidding war for his services.

Lille have sold two players for higher prices in the past, Nicolas Pepe and Victor Osimhen, while they have also previously cashed in on Sven Botman and Eden Hazard.

Yoro can be added to the list, at a crucial time when French clubs are experiencing financial difficulties due to difficulty finding a television broadcaster for Ligue 1, The Guardian report.

It’s little wonder Letang was keen for Yoro to take the deal United were offering, double Real Madrid’s price.

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