Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool 'in discussions' with £78m-rated wonderkid

Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly in talks with Lille’s highly-rated defender Leny Yoro.

The young centre-back has quickly established himself as one of France’s top young talents after working his way through the Lille academy and making his senior debut at the age of just 16 in a win against Nice in May 2022.

Since becoming the club’s second youngest player to make a first-team appearance, Yoro has gone on to establish himself in Paulo Fonseca’s side, making 37 appearances in all competitions and earned a maiden call-up to Thierry Henry’s France Under-21 squad.

His progression has eared rave reviews from several sources, with current Lille team-mate Remy Cabella comparing the youngster to three players that have gone on to impress in the Premier League in recent years.

The former Newcastle United winger said: “At Marseille, I knew Boubacar Kamara, at Saint-Étienne, William Saliba and Wesley Fofana, and now there's Leny Yoro. He has all the qualities and potential to do something huge. He's very humble and that's another of his strengths.”

Yoro’s unquestionable promise and ability has not gone unnoticed by some of European football’s biggest clubs and one recent report in France has suggested both Manchester United and Manchester City are both ready to make a move for his services.

Le10Sport have claimed ‘discussions have started’ with both clubs and revealed Liverpool are also taking an interest in the defender.  However, any willing suitor will have to be prepared to hand over an ‘astronomical sum’ if they want to land Yoro over the coming months.

The report states Lille chairman Olivier Letang has placed a £78m price tag of the centre-back’s head and suggests the presence of advisor Jorge Mendes could swing the race to sign Yoro in Paris Saint-Germain’s favour due to his relationship with the Ligue 1 champions.