Leny Yoro, from Lille to Les Bleus via Manchester United, a rapid yet uneven rise | OneFootball

Leny Yoro has earned a first senior France call-up at 20, triggered by Ibrahima Konaté’s withdrawal on Thursday, after a rapid rise at Lille and a bumpier spell at Manchester United.

He debuted for France Under-21s in September 2023 aged 17 years and 10 months, and now joins Zinédine Zidane’s squad, L'Équipe notes.

A standout in LOSC’s academy, he became Lille’s second youngest Ligue 1 debutant in May 2022 at 16 years and 6 months under Jocelyn Gourvennec. That winter Paulo Fonseca preferred him to Alexsandro during José Fonte’s injury and praised his character and potential.

After Fonte left in summer 2023, Yoro was a fixture beside Alexsandro and Lille’s second most-used outfield player behind Benjamin André. Interest surged, Gestifute blocked an extension before a 2024 move, Real Madrid invited him to the Champions League final but bid about €20m, while Manchester United paid €62m plus €8m in attainable add-ons.

United began badly, a left foot fracture in late July 2024 sidelined him for four months. He debuted in December, six of his first seven outings were defeats, then he settled in Ruben Amorim’s back three and ended the season as a starter before yielding to Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.

Michael Carrick’s arrival in January 2026 brought a Maguire and Lisandro Martínez pairing. This season he has only 22 minutes in the Premier League, and a League Cup start at Brighton ended in a 3-2 exit and drew sharp criticism of his defending and effort.

Source: L'Équipe

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