French wonderkid shines on transfer audition as Real Madrid enter race

Cameron Smith

• 18 Dec 2023 13:13 GMT
• 3 min read

Leny Yoro is being chased by some of the biggest clubs in world football after his stunning breakout onto the scene at Lille.

The French centre-back is still just 18 years old and he has been a regular in Ligue 1 this campaign, with his impressive form partly why Lille currently sit fourth in the top flight standings in France.

In addition, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are all now keen on signing Yoro after watching him in action this season.

His form at Lille has convinced Thierry Henry to promote him to France’s U21 side already and a senior call-up might be around the corner soon if he continues his current trajectory.

While there is increasing interest from the Premier League, however, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are also attentive to Yoro’s situation and he will have made the perfect impression during their 1-1 draw against Lille on Sunday night.

A late Jonathan David goal rescued a point for the home side, but it was the least they deserved after a lacklustre PSG performance saw the Parisians fail to leave their usual mark on the game.

Although Luis Enrique’s side were out of sorts themselves, Yoro must be credited for his role in stopping a potent PSG attack from getting out of second gear.

Furthermore, the young Frenchman will have also impressed Real Madrid, who have entered the race to sign him following David Alaba’s ACL injury, as per Marca.

Yoro shines on transfer audition

With the PSG hierarchy watching on and Real Madrid scouts likely keeping an eye on his performance given the crushing injury blow suffered by Alaba, Yoro was superb.

He helped keep a frontline of Kylian Mbappe, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele deadly quiet, with PSG’s goal only coming courtesy of an Mbappe penalty.

No player on the pitch managed more than Yoro’s five interceptions, while Alexsandro Ribeiro, his centre-back back partner at Lille, was the only player to muster more than his five clearances.

Yoro also won all four of his ground duels and lost possession just four times during the entire game. He played a key role in limiting PSG to just two shots on target all match, with Enrique’s side creating just 0.61 xG when excluding the penalty that Mbappe converted.

With Real Madrid keeping a keen watch on Yoro following Alaba’s injury, he ticked all the necessary boxes and he could well become the latest star of the future to move to the Santiago Bernabeu, following in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham, Endrick and many others.