Manchester United are making moves for new centre backs and Rio Ferdinand has recommended a potential addition.
Here we are again; a summer transfer window has arrived and Manchester United are chasing centre back additions.
This has become a real problem area for United in recent memory and big money has been committed to centre backs.
Eric Bailly in 2016, Victor Lindelof in 2017, Harry Maguire in 2019, Raphael Varane in 2021, Lisandro Martinez in 2022 – United have signed centre backs with real regularity.
There are still problems there though; Bailly has long gone, Varane has left this summer and there are question marks surrounding both Lindelof and Maguire in terms of their long-term futures.
Add in Martinez’s injury woes and United are chasing multiple centre back signings this summer in order to boost Erik ten Hag’s squad.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Rio Ferdinand on Leny Yoro
The United boss appears to be closing in on a reunion with Matthijs de Ligt.
Reports suggest that United are ‘confident’ of bringing De Ligt to Old Trafford but another centre back is still wanted.
Another bid has gone in for Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite but United will have other targets in mind if the Toffees won’t sell.
Lille star Leny Yoro may well be one of them having shown enormous potential during his time in Ligue 1.
Fabrizio Romano has previously noted that United have been tracking Yoro ahead of a potential move.
The 18-year-old is looking more likely to sign for Real Madrid for £50million instead, but Rio Ferdinand is still hoping to see United strike a deal.
Speaking on FIVE, Ferdinand noted that Real look set to sign Yoro rather than moving for Arsenal star William Saliba.
Ferdinand admitted that he would ‘love’ Yoro to join United instead and made a personal plea to Yoro, begging him to ‘please accept’ if United offer him a move to Old Trafford.
Ferdinand believes that Yoro has the potential to become a superstar in the future, praising him as quick, tall and mobile – works which could have been used to describe Ferdinand himself in his playing career.
“I think Real Madrid are going to take Yoro instead (of Arsenal defender William Saliba). Another French boy. They have got an 18-year-old, I would love him to go to Man United. I would love him to go to Man United. If you are looking, Leny Yoro, please accept Man United, please. Man United, please make the offer and please accept.”
“This kid, I think his ceiling is as high as anybody right now, Saliba included. Physically he is not as developed and is not going to be as formidable, but he’s a different type of centre-half. He is quick, he tries to nibble and get in front, he can play long, tall, mobile,” he added.
Angel Gomes has backed Leny Yoro for success
Yoro has become one of French football’s top young talents and another former United player has raved about him.
Playmaker Angel Gomes – who left United for Lille in 2020 – has been playing alongside Yoro in France.
Gomes suggested in February that he ‘immediately’ knew that Yoro would be going to the very top of the game as soon as broke into the Lille side.
Gomes feels that Yoro’s temperament is what makes him so special, believing that he carries himself like a seasoned veteran.
“Leny, from when he first came (into the team), I knew immediately that he was going to go to the top,” said Gomes. “When I was at Manchester United as a 16-year-old, I understood what it was like to be around first-team players. But (Yoro) has a different type of temperament. His temperament isn’t normal or the same as a 16-year-old or 17-year-old coming in.”
“It’s almost like he’s a senior pro, the way he trained and the way he conducted himself and everything. It was easy to see how things could only progress for him,” he added.
United have missed out on some top talents over the years with the likes of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo slipping through the net.
It looks like Yoro will be heading elsewhere too, with United left to focus on De Ligt and Branthwaite instead – but you can be sure that United fans will be keeping tabs on Yoro if he heads to Madrid.
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