Big-money Man Utd star fighting for his future after Liverpool deal exposes INEOS | OneFootball

A star Manchester United went above and beyond to sign is now fighting to stay relevant at Old Trafford on the back of Liverpool showing the Red Devils up.

Back in the summer transfer window of 2024, Man Utd, Liverpool and Real Madrid all set their sights on signing Leny Yoro from Lille.

Real Madrid quickly got the player’s buy-in, and with the centre-back looking destined to move to the Bernabeu, Liverpool called off their pursuit.

However, Man Utd weren’t so hasty in calling it quits, and upon blowing Real Madrid away both in terms of the transfer fee and salary offered, Yoro performed a U-turn and joined United.

The deal was widely viewed as a serious coup at the time, though fast forward to the present day and Yoro is slipping into irrelevance.

He’s not started any of Man Utd’s five Premier League matches this season, with Michael Carrick preferring the Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez partnership.

Yoro did get a rare start in the League Cup, though was roundly panned for his display that helped Brighton come back from two goals down to dump United out in the third round.

And according to our colleagues over on TEAMtalk, Yoro’s back is up against the wall and he’s now embroiled in a fight for his future at Old Trafford.

Leny Yoro future at Man Utd now uncertain

Their insider, Graeme Bailey, explained: ‘Leny Yoro is playing for his Manchester United future, with the club’s commitment to the highly-rated defender set to be tested as they continue to assess their long-term plans.’

It’s no secret the 2027 summer window will see Man Utd radically overhaul their defence. The attack took priority in 2025, the midfield in 2026, and it’ll be the defence’s turn in 2027.

Bailey stressed Man Utd sources are insisting Yoro still has a big part to play in Manchester, though the reporter declared the real story is that Yoro’s future at Old Trafford is now ‘far from certain.’

Exacerbating Yoro’s plight is the fact United’s bitter rivals Liverpool made a similar move that is already looking like a masterstroke.

Liverpool deal exposes INEOS in the transfer market

The Reds also signed a young French centre-back from Ligue 1 when landing Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes. The transfer fees were similar, with Yoro costing £58.9m (add-ons included) compared to Jacquet’s £60m (add-ons included).

The difference is Jacquet is already a guaranteed starter at Anfield having quickly struck up an impressive partnership with Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool have kept three clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, and Jacquet has just been called up to France’s national team squad for the first time.

Yoro, meanwhile, didn’t make the cut for Les Bleus at the World Cup and has again been omitted for France’s Nations League games in the current international break.