Manchester United have made progress in their pursuit of Lille center-back Leny Yoro, outpacing Real Madrid, according to reports from France.
United aim to bring in at least one new central defender this summer, and the 18-year-old is on their list alongside Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.
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It is reported that United’s €50 million (£42.2m) bid for Yoro has been accepted by Lille, but the Premier League club still needs to persuade the defender to join them at Old Trafford.
The main challenge is the attraction of Real Madrid, with Yoro reportedly favoring a move to the Champions League holders this summer.
However, Madrid have not matched United’s offer, with their current highest bid at €20m (£16.8m).
According to L’Equipe’s Nabil Djellit and FootMercato, Yoro is now reconsidering United’s offer and is negotiating with the Premier League club over his salary requirements.
It’s also suggested that members of Yoro’s camp are encouraging the defender to move to United, believing he could quickly secure a spot in Erik ten Hag’s team.
Madrid risks losing out on Yoro unless they increase their offer to Lille.
United’s €50m (£42.2m) offer for Yoro also includes an additional €12m (£10m) in add-ons.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are not ruling out the possibility of De Ligt leaving following United’s interest in the Netherlands international this month.
‘The transfer period is still long,’ Bayern’s sporting director Christoph Freund stated on Tuesday.
‘We currently have a very, very good squad. We cannot rule out whether anything will change – including some who could leave the club. There is a lot of speculation at the moment, but we cannot say more about it right now.’