A gamble worth taking? Manchester United certainly hope so.
Leny Yoro’s switch from Lille to Manchester United happened under the nose of Real Madrid for a potential cost of £58.9m (initial £52.2m), as per Sky Sports.
Yoro made just two appearances during pre-season, ultimately being forced off with a serious foot injury in the first US tour friendly against Premier League rivals Arsenal.
The injury meant Yoro required surgery on his metatarsal and he has been ruled out of action for three months.
It’s far from the start the 18-year-old would have wanted when he put pen to paper at United, but reports suggest United were fully aware that the centre-back had an underlying metatarsal issue before they signed him.
According to The Athletic, medical scans showed a ‘possible’ metatarsal issue when Yoro joined United.
United executives decided to press ahead with the deal to beat the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain to Yoro’s signature.
However, I seriously doubt executives at United are completely comfortable with the fact he’s sustained such a serious injury early on in his career.
This is a young defender with the potential to be the best. United’s new recruitment team will hope he doesn’t suffer with injury hindrance like so many before him.
The clubs who missed out on Yoro will look at this and claim United were naive to spend so much on a player at risk of a metatarsal injury.
But, if everything goes to plan, we’ve got one of the best young defenders in the game with a ceiling to grow over the next 10-years in the heart of United’s defence.
I consider it a risk worth taking and I’m buzzing to see Yoro in a United shirt again.
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