Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has enjoyed a strong start since joining the club and statistics suggest he is ready to reach new levels.
This week, Leny Yoro was pictured doing extra training in Dubai alongside Manchester United teammate Ayden Heaven.
That is exactly the kind of work rate and attitude that Michael Carrick will want to see from his young stars, especially those competing to get back into the starting line-up.
Rio Ferdinand has always urged patience with Leny Yoro
Leny Yoro has only started one match in 2026 so far, but there is no doubt at Old Trafford that he has an extremely bright future with the Red Devils.
Yoro is one of Europe’s brightest young talents, and the statistics now prove it.
Leny Yoro dominating Europe with dribbling stats
United beat Real Madrid to Yoro’s signature because Ineos were confident they were investing in a future star.
While Yoro has had to sometimes be patient in the pecking order behind the likes of Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt, when he has played he has been excellent.
As per DataMB, Yoro is the highest-ranking U23s defender in Europe’s top five leagues when it comes to progressive carries per 90 minutes, averaging 2.2 per match.
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In an era of football where centre-backs are expected to be comfortable on the ball and break through opposition lines, Yoro is proving to be the best young talent on the continent.
Ineos want to build around Yoro and Heaven as a future partnership, and the underlying statistics from both defenders suggest they have what it takes to build a legacy similar to that of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
Ruben Amorim deserves credit for Leny Yoro’s development
When Yoro completed his £52m move to United, it was already known that he was very technically gifted with the ball at his feet.
It is not easy to praise Ruben Amorim for much of what happened during his 14-month tenure, but he did get the best out of Yoro and help to develop his game.
Amorim gave unique instructions to Yoro to carry the ball out of United’s defence more often, and it is clearly a trait that the French defender has now built up.
“This is something he is asking of me, I like to do it and I do it well I think,” Yoro said. “So I will continue like this to bring the ball forward to the midfielders and striker.
“The coach asked me to do, so I need to do it.”
While Yoro could still work on his positional play and duel-winning abilities, he is already one of the best in-possession defenders and Amorim deserves credit for his work on the training ground.
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