Michael Carrick has a big decision to make in his Manchester United defence between Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire.
In his first five matches, Michael Carrick has not made a single change to his back line, putting his full trust in the senior quartet of Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.
With Matthijs de Ligt out injured, it has been a fairly straightforward decision for the interim head coach.
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But it has also meant that youngsters Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro have been overlooked and reduced to minutes off the bench.
In the recent 1-1 draw against West Ham, it was Benjamin Sesko who made headlines for his last-gasp equaliser, but Yoro made two vital blocks late on that stopped United from suffering their first defeat of 2026.
Leny Yoro is competing with Harry Maguire for Man United starting spot
Yoro has one of the highest ceilings of any young player in this United squad, and Ineos were delighted when they beat Real Madrid to his signature in 2024.
In 2025/26, Yoro has made 23 Premier League appearances but only completed a full 90 minutes just three times.
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His short but impactful cameo against West Ham shows exactly why Carrick now has a tough decision to make. Yoro came on to replace Maguire at the London Stadium, and in the first half the English defender was spotted reaching for his hamstring.
With Everton up next for United in two weeks, Yoro will hope he has done enough to challenge for a starting spot.
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But a glance at both defenders’ statistics this season shows why Maguire is simply undroppable when fit.
Harry Maguire’s defensive statistics vs Leny Yoro
According to FotMob, Maguire has won 71% of his ground duels this season and 73% of his aerial duels, putting him in an elite bracket of defenders in the Premier League.
In comparison, Yoro has won 57% of his ground duels and 61% of his aerial duels.
Yoro does come out on top in tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, with 1.85 tackles and 1.31 interceptions compared to Maguire’s 1.05 tackles and 0.7 interceptions.
But United tend to leak more goals with Yoro on the pitch. Per 90 minutes this season, United have conceded 1.85 goals with Yoro playing, compared to just 1.05 with Maguire.
It must be said that Yoro has played most of his football under Ruben Amorim this season, while Maguire has been more active under Carrick.
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