Liverpool has been left to rue the transfer of Leny Yoro to Manchester United after the Frenchman's performances last season drew comparisons to Virgil van Dijk .
The 18-year-old sensation was targeted by the Reds after starring for Lille during the 2023-24 campaign in which he made 44 appearances across all competitions and helped Les Dogues finish fourth in Ligue 1 to qualify for the UEFA Champions League .
He was also part of the side that reached the last 16 of the Coupe de France and the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they crashed out to Aston Villa , after cementing his place in Lille's back line and becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet.
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Despite still being a teenager, Yoro's performances drew some remarkable comparisons to Liverpool captain Van Dijk, one of the best defenders in the world who has been operating at the highest level of the game for a number of years.
Like the Dutchman, Yoro is agile and reads danger well, but also knows when to stay deep and errs on the side of caution with both his passing and ball carrying. There is also an attacking threat to his game, with the youngster chipping in with three goals last season.
Being just 18, however, there is also plenty of time and room to develop his game, yet he can easily slot into the starting XI thanks to the experience he has also gained, along with his general all-round quality that is clearly in abundance.
His 6ft 3in frame is also decisive when it comes to his aerial ability at both ends of the pitch. Speaking ahead of his move to the Red Devils on Wednesday, former Lille manager Paulo Fonseca described Yoro as a "beautiful player" and one that he had no doubt about integrating into his first team when he was just 16-years-old.
"Leny at that time was still 16 and the idea then was that it would just be for pre-season. After just two days I said, ‘No, no he will stay with us here’. For me, players don’t have age if they have talent," Fonseca told The Athletic . "It was so easy to understand that he would be important to the team. In all my years as a coach, I’ve never seen such a young player with so much maturity. He has so much class, so much elegance. He’s a beautiful player."
At 16 years six months and one day of age, Yoro became the second youngest Lille player, taking over from Eden Hazard, to play for the club after coming on as a second-half substitute against Nice on May 14, 2022. The following season, he became a permanent member of the first-team squad, making 19 appearances.
Following his first start for the French side against Toulouse on September 17 that same year, Fonseca said he gave "a solid performance, with a lot of character." Last season, however, was when Yoro fully established himself as one of the best prospects and young center-backs in the world.
A study published in October 2023 by French media , just two months into the 2023-24 campaign, listed Yoro as the second best defender when it came to most duels won across all age groups in Europe, winning 89 percent. He was also the best player under the age of 23 in defensive ground duels won.
Perhaps the most impressive stat, however, was how he was the only defender across all European leagues to be both a top 10 percent player in defensive duel success rate and aerial duel success rate - alongside none other than Van Dijk.
As of March 2024, Yoro was also one of the Ligue 1 best passing players with a total of 1,537 passes made – the seventh in the league across all positions – and a completion rate of 92.3 percent. Come the end of last season, the youngster was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
With Liverpool on the lookout for another defender this summer, following the departure of Joel Matip , Yoro would have been the perfect addition. Should Van Dijk fail to agree on new terms and leave at the end of his current deal, which expires in 12 months time, Liverpool would have had the ideal replacement for the Dutchman given they matched up on stats last season.
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