Lille reportedly threatened Leny Yoro with the prospect of a year of limited action if he refused to sign for Manchester United.
The French club have pocketed more than £50million with the teen defender’s transition to Old Trafford. His dwindling contract left Lille scrambling to make a profitable exit despite Yoro’s known preference for Real Madrid.
Madrid were neck-to-neck with United in the race, but intended to delay signing until the summer in hopes of getting him on a free transfer in 12 months’ time. Lille, aware and fear-struck by that prospect, didn’t want to miss out on cashing in on their valuable player.
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Eager to push the player to rethink, Marca, a Spanish news outlet, alleges Lille “threatened” to bench the 18-year-old for a full season if he rejected the move to England’s top-tier league. Real displayed their unwillingness to pay market price by tabling around £30m to secure Yoro just weeks earlier.
That was an offer firmly turned down by Lille as they were determined to fetch the highest possible amount for a standout star who made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year last season and holds great potential, reports the Mirror. United have subsequently secured the talented teen’s services in what is their second summer signing following Joshua Zirkzee.
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Defensive frailties plagued Erik ten Hag’s squad last season, leading to an insufficient number of goals and culminating in one of their worst Premier League finishes yet. Yoro is set to bolster the defensive line-up at Manchester United, and he’s absolutely buzzing about his move to Manchester, despite initially having his heart set on a move to sunny Spain.
He gushed: “Signing for a club with the stature and ambition of Manchester United so early in my career is an incredible honour. 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 team-mates. I cannot wait to get started.”