Yoro has only one season of regular senior soccer under his belt.
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Intent on adding to its defensive ranks before preseason gets underway this July, Real Madrid is reportedly stepping up its efforts to sign Lille’s highly rated center-back Leny Yoro.
Diario AS today reports that Los Blancos are aiming to seal a deal for Frenchman—who regularly featured in Ligue 1 last season—in the next couple of weeks (Spanish). Yoro is only 18 but already has a presence at 6-foot-3 and reads the game well.
Naturally, with heavyweights like Real circling, Lille wants to drive up Yoro’s price towards the €60 million ($64 million) to €70 million ($75 million) bracket, with the La Liga winner presently reluctant to spend over €40 million ($43 million) for the youngster at this stage.
That negotiations are speeding up makes sense. Given that Yoro’s contract runs down next summer, when he could leave for nothing, Lille knows it can still profit healthily by selling him now—more so because Yoro is an academy product rather than someone it purchased.
Meanwhile, Real needs more options in the backline following captain Nacho Fernández’s recent decision to leave the Santiago Bernabéu, with youth graduate Rafa Marín ready to follow suit. Despite winning titles, including the Champions League, coach Carlo Ancelotti was also a little short in defense last campaign, as Éder Militão missed almost all the action due to injury.
Nacho’s exit leaves a gap to fill in the Real Madrid squad.
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Having supposedly turned down a move to French champion Paris Saint-Germain earlier in June, Real is now in the box seat for Yoro, who is keen on switching to Spain. In an interview with Oh My Goal France during his breakthrough season with Lille, Yoro briefly spoke about Real Madrid great Sergio Ramos. “Ramos is a great defender who inspired many young people when I was little,” he said.
Calm on the ball and with the ranginess of a basketball player, Yoro may be the answer in the post-Ramos and Nacho era. Lille, where he earned his stripes, has a reputation for building up and selling on talents like Eden Hazard and Yohan Cabaye. So, he would arrive with a good grounding.
Yoro: A Potentially Landmark Signing
Real carefully scouts the best youngsters, often identifying future difference-makers from South America. Just look at the Brazilian trio Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and Endrick—the first two are now embedded into a successful side, while Endrick is coming of age at the perfect time and ready to join the senior team.
It tends to do its homework. While not every expensive punt works out, Real manages its incomings and outgoings well in the long term, keeping steady finances and achieving sustained success on the field.
As for Yoro, only across the border this time, spending under, say, €50 million ($54 million) will prove an absolute bargain for Real if he becomes a mainstay in the lineup over the next decade and drives the club to more trophies. If he’s a misfit, or it’s the right move at the wrong time, it might regret taking an early punt when it had thought about waiting another year. On balance, it seems a risk worth taking.
An indication may come soon. Should the teenager come in, be the only defensive reinforcement, and start games from the get-go, Real supporters will get a good sense of the player they have on their hands.
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