Lille president confirms Liverpool 'target' can leave this summer amid Manchester United interest

Lille president Olivier Létang has revealed that Liverpool target Leny Yoro is free to leave this summer.

The 18-year-old has been a revelation in Ligue 1 this season, enjoying a stunning breakthrough campaign that has turned heads across the continent. Having played 44 times across all competitions, as well as managing three goals, Yoro has been a star and he’s also earned debuts for the U21 and U23 French sides.

Interest is high in the defender and the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea have all been linked with a move. And the latest comments from Lille’s president have only added fuel to the fire. Fabrizio Romano posted the comments on X: ‘Lille president Letang confirms: “Leny Yoro and Jonathan David can leave the club this summer”. Both have the ‘exit voucher’ due to their contract situation”.

With Liverpool letting Joel Matip leave on a free, they have four senior centre-backs at the club but Joe Gomez’s performances at full-back last season cast doubt over whether Arne Slot will see him as a centre-back for the upcoming campaign. Therefore, that leaves Virgil van Dijk (32) Ibrahim Konate and Jarell Quansah as defensive options. Reports have stipulated that a centre-back signing is the priority this summer and Yoro could well be a player who embodies the present and future - and is someone who could have a huge re-sale value given his age.

One issue regarding signing the defender is that he is set to feature at the Olympics under Thierry Henry. It means he will miss most of August and won’t be integrated into whichever side he joins until a month or two into the season. However, it may not be an issue given he would be eased into the side due to his age.

Yoro has stood out among the young centre-back talents across Europe, out-performing players who are two/three years his elder. He ranked second for percentage of aerial duels won with 67.9% and fourth for overall defensive duel percentage wins. It looks like there will be a transfer fight for the young defender who could easily find himself at any one of Europe’s top clubs.