Baran is here. "The 2nd Baran" is here...Manchester United Confirms Recruitment of Lenny Yoro → Number 15 of the 'Legendary Vidic'

Jul 19, 2024

Photo =Man United official SNS capture

Manchester United beat Real Madrid and embraced Lenny Yoro 'the second bar'.

On the 19th (Korea Standard Time), Manchester United announced the news of recruiting Rennie Yoro on its official website, saying, `We are happy that Manchester United has recruited Lenny Yoro to be registered with the club.'

Manchester United said 'We have signed a contract with Yoro until June 2029, and we have the option to extend it for another year. He had already played 60 first-team games for Lille at the age of 18 and was named the Ligue 1 team of the year last season.

"I'm very honored to join a club with the same stature and ambition as Manchester United," Yoro said. "After my first conversation with the club, I clearly informed them of their interesting project, and I showed consideration for myself and my family. I know the history of young Manchester United players, and I think it could be the perfect place to unleash my potential with new teammates and achieve my ambitions. I'm looking forward to the start."

Manchester United CEO Dan Asworthy is one of the most impressive young centre-backs. He has all the qualities to grow into a top-notch center back. As he has made a great start to his career, I am happy to support Manchester United to fulfill his potential."

France's RMC Sports said Yoro would wear the number 15 at Manchester United, adding that Yoro would use Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic's number.

Photo =Man United official SNS capture

Lille defender Yoro, who has already earned the tremendous nickname 2 Varane since last season, has been rated as a complete skill with a wide coverage and stable tackle despite his young age of 2005. Big clubs, fascinated by his outstanding skills, aimed for Yoro.

Yoro, who joined the Lille youth team in 2017, succeeded in making his professional debut in Lille by taking the stage of growth and even signed a professional contract ahead of the 2022-2023 season. This season, he has exploded his potential by establishing himself as a solid starting center back for Lille.

Real Madrid was initially considered the closest team to recruiting Yoro. When Real, who wants to reinforce the center back, jumped into the recruitment race, it was reported that Yoro also wanted to go to Real. However, negotiations did not progress quickly because Real had no plans to invest a large amount of money to recruit Yoro. After watching this situation, Manchester United immediately stepped up to recruit and turned the situation around.

AFP Yonhap News

United were desperate for a centre-back. Manchester United, where Raphael Varane left this summer and Harry Maguire and Viktor Lindelof are also scheduled to leave, was initially known to be aiming for Matthias Diricht and Jared Branswaite, but negotiations did not progress quickly. Under these circumstances, the negotiations suddenly turned to Yoro and proceeded with the negotiations.

Manchester United pushed for recruitment by investing a huge budget while Real was dragging its feet over transfer fees. David Onstein, a journalist with global sports media The Athletic, said after Manchester United's progress in negotiations 'Yoro is going to the UK for medical tests and finalizing personal agreements. Manchester United and Lille have already reached an agreement of 62 million euros (about 93 billion won), but Yoro must accept the annual salary. Yoro initially preferred to join Real, but Real does not seem to have any intention of investing in the amount agreed between Manchester United and Lille now,' he said, adding that Manchester United had made a turnaround in the competition for Yoro.

This led Lille to strongly push for Yoro's move to Manchester United, and I think it's better to sell him this summer. However, it is true that the situation has progressed significantly recently, but there is still a lot of work to be done. If it goes according to plan, Manchester United will have a talent that transcends generations, he said.

Photo =Man United official SNS capture

The reason why the transfer to Real was canceled was also disclosed. Real originally intended to accept Lille's low transfer fee or sign him as a free agent in the summer of 2025 when Yoro's contract expires. Yoro didn't lower his posture because he wanted to go to Real. The problem was Lille's attitude. According to Spain's Marca, Lille was adamant that he would not let Yoro play for a year if he refused to accept the trend and insisted on going to Real. Eventually, Yoro had to embrace the trend with Lille's determination.

Yoro's talent was not just focused on Real and Manchester United. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) also desperately wanted to recruit Yoro. France's Foot Mercato says a new meeting will be held soon between close aides to Yoro and General Manager Luis Campos. PSG is the most persistent club in recruiting Yoro. Despite his bad relationship with Lille, PSG is trying everything possible to recruit him, he said. However, Manchester United succeeded in recruiting Yoro without falling behind PSG.

Manchester United, where Yoro has been recruited, is also considering recruiting additional center backs for the next season. Lisandro Martinez and Yoro are considered as key players, and if Maguire and Lindelof both leave, there is a high possibility that they will start recruiting additionally among Diricht and Branswaite, who were previously mentioned as targets for recruitment.

Manchester United fired a signal by embracing a large prospect in the defense, beating Real and PSG, which have begun to rebuild their teams in earnest. It was the first signing of the summer enough to excite fans looking forward to Manchester United's next season.

digh1229@sportschosun.com