Leny Yoro to Manchester United: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings

Manchester United have signed 18-year-old Leny Yoro from Lille for a maximum of €70million (£58.8m, $76.5m) on a five-year deal with an option of a further year.

Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate this summer’s senior Premier League transfers in five categories, with each aspect given a score out of 100, to reach a total score out of 500. Hence, The Athletic 500. The ratings are explained in more detail here (not all transfers will be rated as there may be a lack of data to support an analysis).

Below is our rating for this move.

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Tactical fit — 88/100

A look at how the player fits into his new club tactically, using Sentient Sports’ bespoke tactical-fit model, explained by our tactical expert.

Yoro’s addition looks certain to bolster Manchester United’s back line in the near and long-term future. How much game time he will receive next season is an interesting question, but Raphael Varane’s departure and the injury records of Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire suggest there is a chance he will make a healthy number of appearances.

Yoro is a throwback defender in the mould of Liverpool and Netherlands centre-back Virgil van Dijk. He often hangs back to sweep up danger, allowing his defensive partner to engage with attackers higher up the pitch and play on the front foot. This explains why his volume of defensive engagements for Lille in Ligue 1 last season is limited in comparison to Martinez, Maguire and Varane.

Yoro, however, is excellent at reading and reacting to danger as evidenced by some of the figures for his defensive involvements per 90 minutes (in the league). 

(Martinez missed most of 2023-24 due to injuries)

In this clip below from April against Monaco, Yoro is the deepest-lying defender and reacts brilliantly to change direction and intercept a pass destined for the box.

On the ball, Yoro was a conservative passer last season. While he completed 92 per cent of his 63.2 pass attempts per 90 in the league, only 10.3 per cent of those attempts were long (compared to Martinez’s 12.6 and Maguire’s 16). His 2.3 progressive passes per 90 were also in the bottom 14 per cent of Ligue 1 centre-backs last season.

Yoro did, however, display the ability to pick out team-mates in advanced positions with ambitious passes, as he did against Aston Villa in Lille’s Conference League quarter-final defeat last season. The 18-year-old finds Gabriel Gudmundsson with a pass over the top to the left. Gudmundsson takes his man on before cutting the ball back into the box for Yusuf Yazici to score.

Yoro’s ball-carrying is also relatively conservative.

While he is excellent at keeping hold of the ball (dispossessed only 0.03 times per 90 last season), only 0.5 per cent of his 55.2 carries were progressive, falling well short of Martinez (1.1 per cent of 45.2 carries in 2022-23) and Maguire (2.9 per cent of 38.2 carries last season).

However, both these aspects may not matter much if the right-footed Yoro is paired with a more expansive centre-back like the left-footed, left-sided Martinez has shown he can be — though there will be a few concerns over their ability to consistently win aerial duels.

Playing Yoro alongside Maguire could resolve that issue, but both prefer to play on the right side and have yet to consistently display the ability to progress the ball forward. However, it should be noted that many of Yoro’s qualities from last season may have also been influenced by systemic demands at Lille. 

Given he is still only 18, Yoro could benefit from a season of development, but he has the quality to step into the starting XI if needed and can sweep up behind his centre-back partner.

This seems like an astute move in the transfer market with the potential for dividends.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

Season rating: 57/100

Rating the player over the course of last season, using statistics from The Athletic’s data team.

Having broken into Lille’s first team the season before last, Yoro became an established starter for the Ligue 1 side in the 2023-24 season.

Across France’s top division, the Conference League and the Coupe de France — the premier knockout club competition in French football — Yoro made 44 appearances for Paulo Fonseca’s side. After starting the season on the bench, Yoro, who turned 18 last November, was a near-ever-present at the heart of defence as Lille finished fourth in Ligue 1 to secure qualification for the Champions League play-offs.

Yoro scored twice in Ligue 1 last season — the first a difficult volley against Rennes with the ball coming over his shoulder from a well-worked free-kick routine — and played an essential role as Lille reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League.

He played all 120 minutes in that quarter-final second-leg defeat to Aston Villa but did not get an opportunity to convert from the penalty spot as Lille were eliminated via a shootout.

Elias Burke

Gaming rating: 71/100

Rating the player according to Football Manager 2024’s data across both current and potential ability.

It should not be surprising that Yoro, who has just 58 senior appearances to his name, is not yet considered elite-quality by Football Manager’s estimations. If he reaches his lofty potential, however, he could be a starter at Old Trafford for years to come.

Yoro starts on FM24 with a current ability rating of 119. For context, Lisandro Martinez, arguably the most important defender in United’s back line, has a rating of 155, while Victor Lindelof (142) and Harry Maguire (145) are also comfortably better than the French youngster.

(Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

But United did not part with big money for Yoro to stay at his current level. Sports Interactive’s extensive scouting network has given Yoro a potential ability range of 150-180, reflecting his impressive potential while acknowledging that he is still beginning his professional career.

If Yoro were to fail to surpass the floor of his potential, United are looking at a valuable squad member on a similar level to Maguire. However, were Yoro to reach his ceiling, United would have a once-in-a-generation-type centre-back who could be compared to Liverpool captain Van Dijk.

Elias Burke

Financial value rating: 63/100

A four-category summary of the player’s transfer in financial terms — and whether it makes sense for his new club.

Market value — 13/25

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain both baulked at the prospect of matching Manchester United’s bid for Yoro, an indication this is a deal that some consider too much. It’s hard to quantify the value of a defender so young and United’s faith is based almost entirely on potential.

Squad cost — 16/25

The need for new central defenders has been obvious this summer and Yoro’s arrival has the makings of a long-term solution. Others will follow but with a recruitment budget that has its limits this summer, this is a significant chunk being committed. 

Contract sensibility — 19/25

A five-year deal, with the option to extend by another 12 months, gives United the protection they hope will be needed when signing a prodigious talent. Others will inevitably be earning more at his new club but Yoro will have the potential to earn more once he has proved himself in the Premier League.

Resale value — 15/25

Hard to know if Yoro will become a Cristiano Ronaldo or an Anthony Martial in the years to come but if future predictions turn out correct, United will have a hot property on their hands. The gamble of signing inexperienced teenagers rarely brings any guarantees. 

Philip Buckingham

Risk or reward? 67/100

Is there a history of injury or other problems that could crop up and make this deal a bad one in retrospect? Or does the player come with a clean bill of health? Our expert takes a look.

While nobody can deny Yoro is an outstanding prospect, he is still very young and relatively untested at the top level.

United’s historic reputation, particularly in the past under Sir Alex Ferguson, has been to snap up the best young talent around Europe and provide them with the environment to thrive and grow.

But in the years after Ferguson’s departure, United have focused on bigger and more established names to varying success. Yoro represents a welcome return to the identity United formed in their most successful years.

There is no doubt he has the talent. If United had not signed him this summer, another top European club likely would have.

Still, an outlay of around €70million for a youngster fresh to senior football with only one full professional season under his belt is significant. He has not yet had the opportunity to prove himself at the international and elite European levels — though that will surely come with time if he continues on this impressive development trend. But Yoro’s age and lack of experience represent undoubted risk from United’s perspective.

Still, Yoro is considered the best young central defender on the market. With this summer’s signing of Joshua Zirkzee and the development of talents such as Alejandro Garnacho, United appear to be reverting to the principles that delivered so much success in the first two decades of the Premier League era.

For that reason, they had to take up this opportunity.

Elias Burke

Overall rating: 346/500

(Top photo: Getty Images; design by Eamonn Dalton)