Kylian Mbappe extends his warmest regards to Mr. Ancelotti and his new colleagues.
Leny Yoro’s acquisition indicates that Ineos is addressing the shortcomings of Manchester United’s past
At the outset of this summer, there was a sense within the corridors of power at Old Trafford that history was likely to repeat itself with another exceptionally talented young French defender, as it has been 13 years since Raphael Varane selected Real Madrid over Manchester United.
Leny Yoro was present at Wembley Stadium on June 1 to witness Real’s victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final. The majority of his prospective suitors, including United, were under the impression that he would soon be joining his compatriot Kylian Mbappé in the Spanish capital.
Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Ferland Mendy, Real’s French contingent, had all been in the 18-year-old’s ear, despite the fact that the reigning Spanish and European champions did not require the hard sell. No, not with Mbappé also on board. This was an enormous attractor.
Varane, of course, had been unable to resist that pull as an 18-year-old in 2011, much to the disappointment of then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson had even traveled to the player’s mother’s house in France to try to clinch a deal while the club’s chief executive at the time, David Gill, discussed the finer points of the contract with Lens.
However, Real was unyielding and despatched the renowned former Real and France midfielder Zinedine Zidane to deceive Varane and, in Ferguson’s words, “somehow scoop him up from under our noses.”
Yoro was presented with the opportunity to emulate Varane’s success, as he found himself in the same position as his countryman all those years prior. Varane would go on to win three La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies during an illustrious decade-long tenure with Real. The most probable destination was felt by Real. Therefore, the odds were piled against United, as well as Yoro’s other primary suitors, Liverpool and Paris St. Germain.
However, United maintained their resolve, as there was still an uncommon opportunity to acquire a player who was widely regarded as a generational talent in the football community.
They were presenting Yoro with a unique project: the opportunity to be at the center of something innovative and daring, with the potential for playing time that Real, with their constellation of stars, may find difficult to provide. It is a delightful irony that he is poised to succeed Varane, who was released at the conclusion of the previous season, at United.
United’s most straightforward task was concluding an agreement with Lille, Yoro’s former club. Last week, the French club reached an agreement with United on a deal valued at £58.8 million, which includes add-ons, to avoid losing a highly regarded talent at the conclusion of the upcoming season when his contract expires. Real, who had intended to secure Yoro as a free agent, did not appear to be willing to pay a fee in that range, despite their desire for the teenager.
However, the more challenging aspect was persuading Yoro that his future would be better served in M16 than Madrid. Despite the fact that he arrived in Manchester on Wednesday morning to undergo a scheduled medical and finalize personal terms, no one at Old Trafford was at ease.
This is a new era at Old Trafford; however, United’s history of unsuccessfully recruiting exceptional young players over the past decade, dating back to Gareth Bale’s decision to reject the club in favor of Real in 2013.
Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham, two of the most notable talents of the most recent generation of young footballers, have both declined to join United. Instead, they have chosen to join Borussia Dortmund within six months of each other. This is the reason why the impending annexation of Yoro by United is a significant and early marker in the Ineos era.
This is a stark indication of the direction of travel under the new football operations quartet of chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, as opposed to the past, when United had made an expensive habit of signing ageing, difficult superstars in the twilight of their careers.
United supporters will also be encouraged by the club’s apparent willingness to negotiate in a timely and decisive manner, as well as their clarity regarding their objectives.
It is still very early days, and there is a consensus within the organization that it may require five or six windows to completely reshape the squad to the desired state. However, there have already been numerous deliberate actions taken this summer.
It is impossible to predict the outcome of the acquisition of Joshua Zirkzee, a striker from the Netherlands, but the internal consensus is that they are purchasing a youthful player with significant potential at a reasonable price (£36.5 million, paid over three years) whose skillset complements the team’s deficiencies.
In the same vein, United could have spent the entire summer negotiating a fee of £40 million for Mason Greenwood, who was scheduled to travel to France on Wednesday night for a medical with Marseille. However, the Ligue 1 club agreed to pay a lower fee of £26.6 million in exchange for the inclusion of a sell-on clause that would grant United 50% of the profits from any future sales.
Another departure from the practice of hoarding young players to detrimental effect was the sale of young defenders Willy Kambwala and Alvaro Fernandez for projected fees of £9.9 million and £7.5 million, respectively, with large sell-on fees and buy-back clauses. And in the case of Donny van de Beek’s transfer to Girona, there was an acknowledgment that they would have to take a significant hit on one of the most significant transfer failures of the past. Rather, the focus was on ensuring that all parties moved on swiftly.
The Yoro deal is a significant step forward, despite the substantial quantity of work that remains.