How Leny Yoro Played on Man United Debut v Rangers
Manchester United fans got their first glimpse of Leny Yoro on British soil as the teenage centre-back put in a solid performance on his debut in pre-season. United were taking on Rangers at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in their second warm-up fixture ahead of the new campaign, having lost their first against Rosenborg earlier in the week.
United secured the services of Yoro for a fee that could rise to nearly £60million earlier this week. The 18-year-old defender arrives at United with a reputation as one of the very best young defenders in the world, with the Red Devils managing to get a deal over the line despite interest in the player from Real Madrid.
Yoro’s Encouraging Debut
Teenager looked classy
Yoro started against Rangers and played with calmness and composure throughout his 45-minute outing. All of United’s outfield players were substituted at half-time as Erik ten Hag made 10 changes for the second half, opting to get minutes into plenty of his players’ legs ahead of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
There were a couple of notable highlights during Yoro’s outing. One of them saw the youngster use his pace to pull off a last-ditch challenge on Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers, while another saw him ping a pinpoint long ball from the centre of defence to pick out left-back Sam Murray.
United fans will hope Yoro’s encouraging first outing is a sign of things to come from the youngster. All of Erik ten Hag’s defenders struggled with injuries last season, and Yoro’s youthfulness will hopefully mean he is less likely to succumb to fitness problems.
What Yoro Said After Joining United
‘An incredible honour’
Speaking after joining United, Yoro said: “Signing for a club with the stature and ambition of Manchester United so early in my career is an incredible honour. Since my first conversations with the club, they set out a clear plan for how I can develop in Manchester as part of this exciting project, and showed a lot of care for me and my family.
“I know about the history of young players at Manchester United and feel it can be the perfect place to reach my potential and achieve my ambitions, together with my new team-mates. I cannot wait to get started.”
The Athletic reported that United legend Rio Ferdinand was enlisted by the club to convince Yoro that it would be the right thing for him to move to Old Trafford. It was consistently reported prior to United getting a deal over the line that Yoro’s preference was to join Madrid.
Yoro’s contract at Lille was due to expire in the summer of 2025, when he would have been free to move to the Bernabeu for a small compensation fee. Madrid were not willing to match United’s offer for the defender and he ultimately decided his career would be best served by moving to Manchester.
Yoro Described as ‘United’s Yamal’
Teenager has huge hype to live up to
Madrid will hope they don’t end up regretting their refusal to pay big money to sign Yoro, who is viewed by many as the best teenage defender in the world. Reacting to Madrid missing out on Yoro, Spanish outlet AS described the youngster as ‘Manchester United’s Lamine Yamal’. “He is a phenomenon,” writes David Alonso. “The analogy with Lamine Yamal is not exaggerated, far from it… At 18 years old, after an impressive season, he has revealed himself as a magnificent central defender of the present and a projected star in the very near future.”
Yamal is a year and eight months younger than Yoro but has taken the sport by storm since making his Barcelona debut aged just 15 in April 2023. Yamal played over 50 times for Barcelona last season and was a key player in the Spanish team that won Euro 2024. United fans will hope that Yoro ends up proving that he is in Yamal’s class
