Man United's Leny Yoro transfer and what it means for Jarrad Braithwaite move

Manchester United are close to securing the transfer of 18-year-old centre-back Leny Yoro.

A fee thought to be around between £51 million and £59m has been accepted by Ligue 1 club Lille, where the youngster has been learning his trade.

Throughout the summer transfer window, United have been linked with several defenders including Matthijs de Ligt, David Hancko, and Jarrad Branthwaite. Erik ten Hag’s side previously had a bid rejected by Everton for Branthwaite with a second improved offer of £45m plus add-ons filed yesterday, according to The Athletic.

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The Blues are likely to reject any new offer once again, as they see past transfers of defenders Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana, and Josko Gvardiol as the benchmark for the player's value.

The England international initially featured under Frank Lampard before joining Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven, where he became a mainstay in the heart of the defence. He gained experience playing in the UEFA Champions League, allowing him to mature and test himself against Europe’s elite.

He left Merseyside as a young prospect and returned as a fully-fledged top-level defender. Early in the 2023-24 season, he started against Wolverhampton Wanderers and never looked back, appearing 33 times in the Premier League and forming a formidable partnership with James Tarkowski in Sean Dyche’s side.

Although Dyche’s defenders may be struggling to banish stereotypes of being ‘real’ or ‘traditional’ defenders, the 22-year-old is anything but. He has all the attributes; tall, strong, an aerial threat but most impressively so calm under pressure, with and without the ball at his feet.

As far as United supporters will be concerned, the Yoro deal looks like a front-runner almost ruling out the prospect of Branthwaite arriving at Old Trafford this summer, at least for now. A move for Branthwaite could yet go through if Yoro chooses Real Madrid, with the Lille defender set to decide on his next destination.

With Everton now past the June 30 PSR deadline, they will likely hold onto their young player of the season. The Toffees recently offloaded Arnaut Danjuma - who returned to Villarreal - while Andre Gomes left after his contract expired.

Youngster Lewis Dobbin departed for Aston Villa for a reported fee of £10m with Ben Godfrey joining 2024 UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta for a similar amount.