Manchester United have made a better contract offer to Lille defender Leny Yoro amid interest from Real Madrid, according to Spanish publication Marca (page 19).
The Red Devils are in the transfer market for a new central defender with Raphael Varane expected to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires on June 30.
Yoro is one of the top names on their summer wishlist. The 18-year-old has the preference to join Madrid, but the arrival of United onto the scene has complicated things.
Lille prefer to sell the teenager to the highest bidder and could be eyeing more than £34 million.
The Red Devils have also made a proposal to Yoro that exceeds what Madrid can offer.
The youngster is expected to leave the French outfit with his contract expiring in June 2025. Former Lille manager Paulo Fonseca has previously said that Yoro is very ‘ambitious‘.
United have brilliant chance to sign Yoro ahead of Madrid
Yoro is regarded as one of the best young centre-backs in French football. He had a brilliant breakthrough season where he had a passing accuracy of 92 per cent.
The wonderkid also won 63 percent of his duels contested with 3.9 recoveries and three clearances. He lost possession on only 5.1 occasions per appearance for Les Dogues.
His form was somewhat unconvincing during the final weeks of the campaign, but this is unlikely to deter his suitors including United, who may want an emerging star with huge potential.
Madrid consider Yoro as a player with similarities to a young Varane at Lens, but United have a brilliant chance to beat them to his signature with a higher transfer package.
Los Blancos paid a huge signing-on fee to land Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer and they are also determined to sign left-back Alphonso Davies from Bayern this summer.
As a result, the club have set a price cap of £34m on Yoro and don’t want to pay more. In our view, this could play into United’s favour if they propose a package of around £40m.
Marca claim that United have also offered better contract terms to the player. Lille may prefer a quick sale by July such that they can land a suitable replacement for their graduate.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com