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Louis SealeyPublished Jun 13, 2024, 2:21pm|Updated Jun 13, 2024, 2:22pm
Rio Ferdinand has backed Manchester United to beat Real Madrid to a deal for Leny Yoro and reacted to Erik ten Hag keeping his job at Old Trafford.
Premier League giants United and La Liga champions Madrid have both been linked with moves for Lille defender Yoro.
Despite only turning 18 in November, Yoro is already valued at around £50m after enjoying a breakout season for the French side.
Yoro played in all but two of Lille’s 34 Ligue 1 games last season, helping Bruno Genesio’s side finish fourth and make the Champions League qualifiers.
Ferdinand believes the highly-rated teenager has ‘huge potential’ and urged his former Manchester United to secure his signature ahead of Real Madrid.
‘This is a huge, huge summer for Manchester United,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. ‘It’s a huge transfer window.
‘They need to recruit well, they need to recruit better. That’s been one of the poorest elements at the club in recent years.
‘They’ve got to get a fit Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez back and playing more regularly next season. Get them two fit and then you need to buy another centre-back, definitely.
‘Do we go for experience or a young one? Leny Yoro is the young lad from France, Lille. I think he’s top, he has huge potential and could be anything.
‘I don’t think Real Madrid are going to be in the market for a centre-back so I think he’s there ready to be taken and I would take him now. You would get a good five or ten years out of him.’
Any transfers Manchester United make this summer will presumably be signed off by Ten Hag, who has kept his job despite the team’s inconsistent form last season.
United slumped to their lowest-ever Premier League finish under Ten Hag but the Dutchman avoided the sack after a surprising FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
Manchester United did contact multiple managers about replacing Ten Hag and Ferdinand admits he thought a new man would be taking over at Old Trafford this summer.
‘The manager is staying and there’s been so much debate and conversation about whether he would stay or go,’ Ferdinand added.
‘The owners took their time to think about the FA Cup final and the fallout from the whole season. I actually thought they would go the other way but maybe they’ve spoken to a few managers and thought they’re not for us.
‘Ten Hag has won two trophies in two years and the amount of injuries last season was mad, the most of any team in the league. So given that I can totally understand why the manager is staying.’
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