Eighteen years old and barely 60 games as a professional footballer – and then two of the biggest clubs in the world come swooping in.

That is the life of Leny Yoro, who has been involved in a transfer tussle between Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Finally, the saga has concluded. The teenage French defender has completed a £59.8m move to Old Trafford, with Yoro becoming the second-most expensive defender in United's history.

So why is there the hype for a young prodigy with only one full season as a regular first-team player under his belt?

Leny Yoro is Next Up.

Complete at 16: Yoro's beginnings

“When I knew him in the beginning aged 16, he was a very complete player.”

Jocelyn Gourvennec was the Lille manager who gave Yoro his professional debut in the 2021/22 season.

Lille have a long history of producing sensational youth talent – Eden Hazard, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Digne and Franck Ribery are but a few players who came through Les Dogues’ academy structure – but none of them came through as young as Yoro.

Lille’s situation was relatively desperate. The reigning Ligue 1 champions at the time only had an 18-player squad to compete across the league and Champions League – so Yoro was fast-tracked into first-team training.

“I used players older than Leny in the beginning during the first three or four months, afterwards the president told me to look at a younger player, who was only 16,” Gourvennec tells Sky Sports.

“We took him only in training for the beginning and it was surprising – because he was very tidy and calm.”

Yoro did not just impress Lille’s coaching staff, but his new first-team colleagues too. Gourvennec called on the opinions of Jose Fonte, Renato Sanches and Burak Yilmaz on their new academy product.

“It’s important to ask the experienced players what they are thinking, all of them were definitely convinced by him,” Gourvennec adds.

“They said: ‘he’s only 16, it’s difficult to play every game now. But you know in one or two years he will be an important player.’”

Yoro had to wait for his chance – more experienced heads such as Fonte, Sven Botman and Tiago Djalo were ahead of him in the defensive pecking order.

But when he made his professional debut in a 3-1 win over Nice in May 2022, Yoro became Lille’s second-youngest player – and their youngest debutant since Hazard.

His promising career had begun.

Becoming a Lille regular

A key plus point in Yoro’s skillset is his ability to keep improving. It is one of the reasons why Yoro has gone from “a little bit tender”, according to Gourvennec, to being wanted by the world’s best.

“Sometimes young players think they don’t have many things to learn so they don’t listen,” he says. “They think they’re ready now. Of course, in most cases, it’s not the case.

“It’s not like that with Leny. He was very happy to learn, to hear, to accept what we have to say. That’s important because when you are young and very professional like that, you can go very far.

“You say one thing and it’s understood immediately. You don’t have any problems with these players.

“He’s a little bit like Jules Kounde. I had him in Bordeaux, I put him in the starting XI when he was only 13. He’s the same – intelligent, very calm.”

Fast-forward two years and Yoro is now a regular. He played 32 times for Les Dogues last season, no other player in that side managed more minutes than the teenager. Moreover, his maturity is still praised, even though he is still 18 and in his tender years.

“It’s not normal to have an 18-year-old player like Leny with this maturity and the technical qualities,” Paulo Fonseca said as Lille boss last season.

“For me, he will be one of the best central defenders in France and probably in Europe. He is very balanced, and there is no doubt that he will be a very good player.”

What the numbers say

Yoro’s maturity can be seen in his game. It is calm and measured, and while few risks are taken, he is deemed a safe pair of hands.

Only five players completed more passes than Yoro – playing as a right centre-back in Fonseca’s back four system at Lille – though the majority of these passes were in his own half and he barely played through the lines.

His ball retention rate of 92% - how likely he is to keep the ball – was bettered by only three Ligue 1 defenders last season.

And then there is his 6ft 2in frame, which helps him win more aerial duels than most, while also using his long legs to generate speed.

“He is technically good, always calm,” says Gourvennec. “He has a good reading of the game. He’s technically very good – short and long passes.

“He’s good in duels – good with his head in aerial duels. He has the height for it.

“He’s fast. He’s fast.”

Yoro is still impressing his team-mates. Remy Cabella worked with Boubacar Kamara – now of Aston Villa – at Marseille and also played alongside William Saliba and Wesley Fofana at Saint-Etienne.

Asked about Yoro, he said last season: “He has all the qualities and potential to do something huge. He’s very humble, that’s another of his strengths.”

Areas to improve

Yoro’s humility means he knows what needs to be done to reach the highest level. After all, he is still 18 and far from the finished article.

“Concentration,” says Gourvennec, when asked where Yoro could improve.

“Sometimes he can make a bad foul, a penalty or he can lose control of the ball and the striker can take the ball in on goal. The most important thing for him now is concentration.”

That has been noticed elsewhere. “He sometimes has some reactions similar to that of a young person and that is completely normal,” says Thierry Henry, head coach of France’s Under-21s.

“It comes slowly. You make mistakes and sometimes you get embarrassed.

“But he goes on to play one match after another, he starts quite often and quite often is good. It’s really good for him.”

Continuity will be key for Yoro in Manchester. Adapting and learning will be part of the process as he enters a new league, but as Henry says – the best way for the young Frenchman to make strides is by playing.

“Leny can play in England of course,” adds Gourvennec. “He has all the qualities. For me, it’s not a problem if he goes to Germany, Spain or England – he will perform.

“I have no doubts about Leny, because he is clear in his head and is very intelligent.”

Lenny Yoro is Next Up.

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