Manchester United are not prepared to give up on defender Leny Yoro despite his preference to join Real Madrid, according to Sky Sports’ journalist Dharmesh Sheth.
The Red Devils are in advanced talks with Bayern Munich over signing centre-back Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutchman is expected to join the club very soon.
However, United have not ruled out signing more than one centre-back, and they are not prepared to give up their pursuit of the Lille defender.
The French outfit have already accepted United’s £42 million bid for the teenager, but he is currently holding out for a dream move to the European champions.
Madrid are yet to match the Red Devils’ proposal for the ‘very ambitious‘ wonderkid whose contract with Lille expires at the end of next season.
United continue to monitor him closely. Raphael Varane recently left on a free transfer, and Victor Lindelof will most likely depart if another centre-back is signed.
United have an ambitious plan of signing De Ligt and Yoro
De Ligt is one of the best distributors in European football. He had a passing accuracy of almost 94 percent last season and would be an ideal successor for Varane.
It was initially suggested that the club could pursue a left-footed centre-back alongside De Ligt, but Everton are currently playing hardball in negotiations for Jarrad Branthwaite.
United’s latest offer of £50m was rejected by the Toffees, who value him at £70m.
The Red Devils would be better off signing Yoro. The 18-year-old has all the attributes to suit the Premier League.
Yoro completed 92 percent of his passes last term compared to Branthwaite’s 80 percent. He won a similar percentage of duels (63 to 65 percent).
Branthwaite is better with his tackling and ability to clear his lines, but Yoro is much more composed and has impressed with his supreme positioning.
De Ligt and Yoro would be superb additions in the heart of United’s defence for next season.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com.
