Leny Yoro is Manchester United’s second signing of the summer time after Joshua Zirkzee. We analysed what the defender will deliver to Outdated Trafford.
If there was one space within the Manchester United squad you could possibly nearly assure would see reinforcements this summer time, it could’ve been at centre-back. And after weeks of hypothesis round just a few names, they’ve lastly made a decisive transfer.
Whereas there’s nonetheless apparently an opportunity their pursuits of Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs de Ligt may proceed in one other summer time of transition, younger French defender Leny Yoro has in the end grow to be their massive guess in that division.
United after all had nightmares in that a part of the workforce in 2023-24. Supervisor Erik ten Hag was unable to discipline an everyday centre-back pairing resulting from accidents and unavailability, and there was typically a sense that that lack of stability was contributing to their points in different areas of the pitch.
Their most common partnership on the coronary heart of the defence final season was Raphaël Varane and Jonny Evans, however they solely began collectively six instances within the Premier League. To place that into perspective, Arsenal fielded Williams Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães collectively at centre-back in 34 league video games, and so they have been in the end key to the Gunners’ title problem and the very fact they conceded the fewest targets (29).
Now, in that instance it clearly helps that each are extraordinarily good footballers, not simply good defenders. However it stands to purpose {that a} steady centre-back partnership breeds a sure stage of confidence. What made issues worse for United was the very fact Evans ended up taking part in 23 instances within the league; though he largely acquitted himself properly, he was initially solely signed as an emergency backup participant after re-joining on a short-term deal in pre-season final yr.
{That a} then-35-year-old who hadn’t even been an everyday in a relegated Leicester Metropolis workforce ended up taking part in so ceaselessly for United was a damning indictment of their switch insurance policies of latest years. Nevertheless, the arrival of Yoro arguably displays the regime change that’s occurred at Outdated Trafford since final summer time, with the costly and injury-prone Varane additionally allowed to go away following the expiration of his contract.
Yoro is just 18 however has already performed 46 league video games at senior stage for Lille, with {the teenager} regarded by many as one of the crucial promising younger defenders in world soccer. Whereas he first gained common publicity to senior-level soccer within the 2022-23 marketing campaign, it was in 2023-24 that he stepped as much as grow to be one of many workforce’s main gamers.
In accordance with widespread reviews, Yoro stands to price United an preliminary £54 million. There’s no getting away from the very fact it’s some huge cash for any participant, not to mention an 18-year-old. That in itself goes to deliver with it sure expectations and stress which can be prone to check the teen, however the consensus is his potential is huge.
A number of elements of his sport stand out virtually instantly. For starters, he’s tall at 6-foot-3 however he’s additionally fast, a beneficial mixture at centre-back notably at the present time given what number of groups wish to press excessive and due to this fact deploy a excessive line.
Yoro has lengthy legs and makes use of them to his benefit, making a behavior of prodding the ball away seemingly from out of nowhere both when an attacker is making an attempt to defend or seeking to run in behind.
In fact, it’s not too dissimilar to what Aaron Wan-Bissaka may typically be seen doing, although with Yoro there not often tends to be the identical stage of desperation concerned, showing moderately extra accountable for such conditions.
On that word, above all he’s a composed and swish centre-back. Contemplating his place, nationality, construct and who he seems to be changing, it received’t be stunning to see followers evaluate Yoro with Varane.
“Once I noticed him, I noticed Raphaël Varane,” Lille academy director Jean-Michel Vandamme advised Le Parisien relating to the primary time he watched Yoro in motion. “[He has] the identical angle, the identical dedication, the identical maturity on the similar age, the identical physique form. He’s a godsend.”
Though the radar beneath doesn’t present them as an actual match, groups types have an effect right here – as an example, United have been so porous defensively final season that Varane was extra energetic defensively. Both manner, there are clearly similarities in output and magnificence.
As for evaluation of Yoro’s maturity, many have made comparable feedback throughout his fledgling profession, together with the coach who arguably is aware of him finest, now former Lille boss Paulo Fonseca.
“It’s not regular to have an 18-year-old like Leny, with the maturity and technical qualities he has,” Fonseca stated late final yr. “For me, he’ll be the most effective central defenders in France and possibly all of Europe. He’s very well-balanced and there’s little question he’s going to be a fantastic participant.”
That maturity and technical capacity could be seen collectively in his passing; Yoro is used to seeing loads of the ball, along with his 63.2 passes per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 final season seeing him rank fifteenth amongst defenders.
In open play, he boasted a 91.9% move completion fee, which was bettered by solely three centre-backs to try no less than 1,000 passes, and all three play for Paris Saint-Germain (Marquinhos, Danilo and Milan Skriniar).
Yoro’s reliable in possession and due to this fact an assuring presence when on the ball. In fact, such a excessive completion fee for centre-backs typically highlights a scarcity of riskiness in passing, and the 18-year-old can’t actually be thought-about routinely adventurous.
With 42 open-play progressive passes over the season, that accounted for simply 2.3% of his general whole, placing him on the very backside amongst centre-backs to play no less than 200 passes. This clearly suggests a major give attention to secure passes to close by teammates moderately than between the traces to gamers in additional superior areas.
However taking part in secure needn’t be construed as being inherently dangerous, nor ought to Yoro’s passing capacity or vary be dismissed purely on this foundation, since you don’t want to look at him for lengthy to see he’s clearly technically very proficient – as Fonseca alluded to.
In actual fact, amongst centre-backs to try no less than 100 lengthy passes, Yoro’s 51.4% completion fee was the eleventh finest in Ligue 1 final season, whereas he was the one central defender to try greater than three switches of play (11) who accomplished 100% of them.
So, whereas Yoro’s distribution could not present probably the most progressiveness, he provides real reliability on the ball and the maturity to grasp that taking part in secure needn’t be a nasty factor. Moreover, he possesses the technical qualities to be extra adventurous when he feels the alternatives are there or it’s essential to be.
Yoro’s angle seems to be comparable by way of his choices round carrying the ball. On common, he carried the ball 8.9 metres and progressed the play 3.8m when operating with the ball final season; each figures are beneath the Ligue 1 common amongst centre-backs.
Moreover, with solely 44.2% of his ball carries classed as progressive, he additionally got here in beneath the league common for centre-backs on this metric.
However now we have to recollect being progressive both via passes or carries doesn’t essentially equate to a centre-back being nice; it clearly relies on the position they’re requested to play.
It’s additionally necessary we don’t lose sight of an important reality in all of this: Yoro’s solely 18. He’s managed to show himself to be a really competent and dependable passer already, and there’s no purpose to consider he can’t enhance as a progressor of play as he develops.
It helps that he already seems to be a really astute defender. His tempo, as talked about earlier than, is clearly a fantastic assist as a result of it permits him to get well shortly and gives his workforce with a notable counter to quick runners in behind. However on prime of that, it permits him to maintain up with the twists and turns of agile forwards making an attempt to achieve an inch in one-one-one duels, and Yoro’s good job on Kylian Mbappé in December’s 1-1 draw was proof of how efficient he could be.
He wasn’t the Lille centre-back who engaged the opposition first most frequently final season, very often taking over the position of sweeping up – maybe a bit like Varane – however Yoro’s 62.7% success fee in floor duels was the eleventh finest amongst central defenders (minimal 900 minutes performed) final time period, whereas his 69.4% sort out success was bettered by solely six centre-backs.
One other optimistic that isn’t unrelated to Yoro’s actions in duels is the very fact he averaged simply 0.7 fouls conceded per 90 minutes final season, placing him among the many cleanest centre-backs in Ligue 1. Contemplating he’s prone to be taking part in alongside the moderately extra brutish Lisandro Martínez, this will solely be seen as a optimistic and doubtlessly even one other signal of Yoro’s maturity.
Yoro additionally had a good document in aerial duels, profitable 64.9%. Whereas not fairly ok to interrupt into the highest 10 amongst centre-halves, it needs to be identified that it’s a reasonably strong return for a participant who some really feel nonetheless seems to be a bit slight. If that’s the bottom he’s working from, Yoro may grow to be a really imposing determine if he continues to bulk up, as he virtually actually will.
And therein lies one of many key parts of this signing: Yoro’s solely simply getting began. The 18-year-old has had French soccer specialists raving about him for some time now, and there’s already an unmistakable managed assertiveness to the way in which he performs that’s inconceivable to disregard.
No participant is ever a assure, and a transfer to the Premier League will undoubtedly present Yoro with a radical examination each technically and bodily. However he already seems to be a category act and has apparent areas for progress, which is a promising begin.
Followers will hope he isn’t the one new centre-back arrival, and {that a} barely extra skilled signing resembling De Ligt permits Yoro extra time to develop. But when United nurture him properly, and so they’ve a good observe document of doing simply that with younger gamers, they is likely to be about to shore up one spot of their again 4 for the foreseeable future.
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