Manchester United on verge of spectacular £42m signing - with one obstacle left: report
Manchester United can tie up their next signing of the summer in the coming days, providing they navigate one last hurdle
![Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cfhabyR57obtjVMjwXVDTU-320-80.jpg)
Manchester United are on the brink of bringing in a £42 million transfer, as the summer business at Old Trafford continues.
The Red Devils have been busy during this window. Netherlands star Joshua Zirkzee has recently signed for the club, with international team-mate Matthijs De Ligt rumoured to be following.
The Dutch revolution is continuing in the dugout, too, with cult striker Ruud van Nistelrooy joining Erik ten Hag's coaching staff. Fellow Eredivisie coaching talent Rene Hake is moving to Manchester United, too.
Now, the Mirror reports that a £42m deal has been agreed with Lille starlet Leny Yoro. Manchester United are now just waiting for the player himself to agree to the move.
It's been reported that the teenager has been holding out for a move to Real Madrid. With the European champions stalling over whether to sign Yoro, however, the door has opened for United to step in and make a proposal.
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Le Parisien now says that it's a two-horse race between United and Real, with the Premier League side putting “a convincing argument” forward to Yoro. Liverpool are said to have dropped out of the race.
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Included in FourFourTwo's most exciting teenage talents of last season, we remarked, “Watching Leny Yoro in youth football was like seeing someone's big brother come to play with the year group below. He's a superstar in the making for a country that already has a quite frankly ridiculous wealth of talents in that position.”
In FourFourTwo's opinion, this was a move that didn't look likely until very recently. Yoro, who has been compared to John Stones, looked dead set on moving to Madrid and didn't seem to want any other options.
With United putting forward a more convincing picture of their project, they seem to be back in the race. It makes perfect sense as to why they'd want Yoro, too: De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez will likely be the first-choice defensive pairing, with Yoro – still 18 – an able deputy to deputise.
Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw can both cover in central defence, while Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire are expected to follow Willy Kambwala and Raphael Varane out the door. Don't be surprised if United make another centre-back signing, too.
Yoro is valued at €50 million by Transfermarkt. His contract expires next year.
More Manchester United stories
Mancehster United are said to be in surprise talks with Girona star, Viktor Tsygankov and are targeting Xavi Simons, too. Manuel Ugarte has been linked, Dani Olmo is wanted and Turkish star Ali Naci Kucuk has been rumoured, too.
Meanwhile, United have signed ‘the next Ronaldinho’ according to his former manager.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.