Liverpool are reportedly hoping to exact their revenge on Real Madrid for pipping them to Kylian Mbappe by signing Los Blancos target Leny Yoro in the January transfer window. Branded the ‘next William Saliba’, Lille’s teenage sensation has established himself as a regular starter at centre-back for his boyhood club despite only being 18 years old.
The young starlet has already played 35 times for his senior side across all competitions and is noted for his physicality and reading of the game. According to French outlet Le10Sport, the Reds are “advancing in talks” to acquire his services.
But he won’t come cheap. Les Dogues are said to be demanding around £75 million for the promising young defender while club president Olivier Letang reportedly has no intention of selling Yoro this month.
Liverpool are in desperate need of reinforcements in the middle of their backline with Joel Matip absent for the rest of the season through injury. They still have Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Jarrell Quansah and Joe Gomez at their disposal but the latter is needed at left back to fill in for Andy Robertson and Konstantinos Tsimikas, who remain on the sidelines.
It is likely Liverpool will look for a lower-cost option at centre-back instead of splashing out although PSG could stomach the extortionate price tag if required. The French giants are keen on signing Yoro and were reportedly quoted the same amount when they inquired about the player.
PSG only recently signed Brazilian centre-back Lucas Beraldo from Sao Paulo for £17.2m. The 20-year-old was expected to be PSG’s only defensive reinforcement in the winter transfer window but Les Parisiens’ transfer plans have changed following an injury to Milan Skriniar.
According to RMC Sport, Yoro is viewed as a potential solution for the reigning Ligue 1 champions. Over the summer, PSG – like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid – were monitoring the Frenchman’s situation.
Yoro’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2025 but Lille are keen to extend his stay at the club. That being said, there have been no reports suggesting that any progress has been made towards this goal.
