Lille defender Leny Yoro’s move to Manchester United was confirmed on Thursday afternoon in a deal estimated to be worth over £50million.
The 18-year-old centre back completed his medical at United on Wednesday, and soon after became their second signing of the summer after the arrival of Joshua Zirkee.
The young defender will be fighting for a spot in Erik ten Hag‘s first team ahead of their Premier League season opener against Fulham at Old Trafford on August 16, and there is also question of who will be his partner.
The move comes amid the departures of central defenders Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwala, with the United manager searching for replacements for the pair.
Mail Sport takes a look at Yoro’s defensive numbers and how they match up with the rest of the Red Devils’ defenders’ stats.
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Raphael Varane
These are the shoes the French teenager will have to fill. Varane was once the hottest defensive prodigy in football himself, and Ten Hag will be hoping his fellow Frenchman can be a direct replacement for the departed centre back.
Varane made 22 appearances for Manchester United last season, playing 1371 minutes and being on the pitch for 13 wins in what was a mixed campaign.
23 goals were conceded during the games in which he featured, with the Frenchman averaging 59.6 minutes per goal conceded, achieving only three clean sheets in that time.
It’s not quite the 13 clean sheets Yoro obtained in his 32 appearances last season at Lille, and the teenager’s numbers also better Varane elsewhere.
In terms of passing, 24 progressive passes were made by Varane, compared to the 42 Yaro made, while Varane had a pass accuracy of 89.3 per cent and carry progress of 1626.9 metres, falling short of Yaro’s 92.2 and 2167.7 for the same categories.
There did, however, come a time for Varane to trump his successor – he was only been dribbled past by an opponent four times in comparison to Yaro’s 14 times.
Another area of success for Varane’s was in the air. He won 80.8 per cent of his duels, beating Yoro’s 64.8 per cent.
Raphael Varane will undoubtedly leave an absence when he – and his experience – leaves club
In all of Varane’s appearances in the 2023-24 season, he made 86 clearances and 18 blocks for…