Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim considers Leny Yoro as a crucial player and a smart signing for the club.
The 18-year-old joined the Red Devils from Lille last summer. The Frenchman was heavily linked with Real Madrid, but United convinced him to move to Old Trafford.
Yoro impressed in a couple of pre-season games, but he unfortunately suffered a metatarsal fracture against Arsenal in July which delayed his first-team debut.
The wonderkid made his first appearance against the Gunners in the Premier League on Wednesday and Fabrizio Romano reports that Amorim and his staff rate him highly.
He posted on X: “In every internal meeting, even during talks before joining United, Amorim and his staff mentioned Leny as crucial player and smart signing.”
Yoro replaced Harry Maguire at the hour mark against the Gunners. He had a good outing with four duels and one tackle won with a passing accuracy of 86 percent.
The youngster showed no signs of nervousness in his maiden appearance and he should only get better as he continues to adapt to a new formation under Amorim.
The manager would ideally want Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez as his back three with Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo in the wing-back positions.
However, it may take some time before that happens. Yoro has just returned after a long lay-off due to foot surgery and his minutes could be limited until January.
Yoro was described as ‘very ambitious‘ by manager Paulo Fonseca. He could become an integral part of the starting plans of Amorim in the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, United suffered a setback in the top four race after a 2-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
They were defensively solid in the opening half, but were second best following the break. The defeat has dropped them to 13th in the league table and seven points behind the top four.
As per UEFA’s co-efficient rankings, fifth position could be enough to make the Champions League as things stand. United are four points adrift of fifth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Red Devils need to build a winning streak to close the deficit. It won’t be an easy task with Manchester City, Newcastle United and Liverpool to face over the next month.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Fotmob.com