Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has a big decision to make in the 2026-27 season.
Leny Yoro moved to Old Trafford from LOSC Lille after United agreed an initial fee of £52 million in 2024.
Real Madrid were his preferred club but they were not willing to match United’s bid.
Once it became clear that the Spanish club were no longer seriously in the race, Yoro indicated he wanted to join United.
Yoro is now in his third season at United and expectations are bound to be higher.
However, it is easy to forget that Yoro is still only 20 and mistakes are an inevitable part of his development.
Yoro has featured in three of the seven games this season, including his cameo at right-back against Ipswich Town.
His first start of the campaign came against Sabah FK in the UEFA Champions League.
The young defender recorded a passing accuracy of 92% and made seven defensive contributions.
Although he won only three of his seven duels, he made five recoveries and two tackles.
Yoro was handed another start when United faced Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup.
The 20-year-old made a few good blocks but was positionally all over the place and should have done better for the second goal.
He subsequently came under plenty of criticism as the Red Devils were eliminated in the third round.
Ayden Heaven partnered Yoro at the back against Brighton and the inexperience of both players proved to be the weakest link.
Despite being a cup fixture, this was still a difficult test against a well-coached Brighton side packed with quality players.
Yoro and Heaven both struggled to marshal the defence. The inability of Diogo Dalot to take responsibility also did not help the duo.
Yoro was much more comfortable when he was partnered by Lisandro Martinez in the Champions League fixture.
That should give Carrick food for thought when deciding how best to use the talented defender.
We believe Carrick must show more faith in the 20-year-old and start him regularly with the more experienced defenders in the team.
Yoro looks destined to become a long-term replacement for Harry Maguire and possesses many of the attributes required to develop into a highly capable defender.
The young Frenchman has recovery pace that Maguire lacks, allowing him to cover large spaces and recover quickly when United’s defensive line is breached.
He is also capable of sprinting back into position and has shown a willingness to make well-timed sliding tackles.
Yoro is still learning how to be more incisive with his distribution, but he already moves the ball quicker than his more experienced English team-mate.
Maguire and Martinez have both been guilty of taking too much time in possession this season.
The movement of the players ahead of them must also be questioned, but ultimately centre-backs have a responsibility to identify and exploit passing lanes during the build-up.
Yoro has the traits to be a very successful defender but he needs a confidence boost from his manager.
Stats from Fotmob.com
