Man Utd ‘open door’ to shock Real Madrid move for Red Devils star after ‘verbal agreement’ reached | OneFootball

Manchester United will reportedly ‘open the door’ for Leny Yoro to leave the club as Real Madrid reignite their interest in the centre-back, who already has a ‘verbal agreement’ in place to leave Old Trafford for the Spanish giants.

Yoro joined the Red Devils from Lille for £52m in the summer of 2024 as Los Blancos backed away from their own negotiations with the young defender as they couldn’t match the fee offered by the Premier League side.

Reports suggested Yoro preferred a move to the Bernabeu at the time, and he may now get his wish as a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes claims his name ‘once again sneaks into Real Madrid’s sports planning’.

Madrid now believe that Yoro is ‘a more mature player prepared to assume immediate responsibilities’ after his time at Old Trafford, despite what many will have seen as an up and down spell at best in England.

Yoro has now made 56 appearances for United, but was in and out of the team under Ruben Amorim and now firmly out of it after Michael Carrick took the interim reins.

The 22-year-old has played just one minute of the Red Devils’ three games under Carrick and doesn’t look set to force his way back in anytime soon given they’ve won all three of those games, against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.

Carrick’s move to four at the back with just two centre-backs rather than the three deployed by Amorim will make game time far harder to come by for Yoro, who has watched Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire excel in those roles in the last three games.

The report claims that while United have not ‘officially declared Yoro as transferable’, they will ‘open the door to an exit’ if Madrid are willing to make a bid of around €70m [£61m], in what would be a remarkable profit-making coup for the Premier League giants.

Madrid may not need to pay that much as a report just after Yoro signed for United claimed they came to a ‘verbal agreement’ with the Red Devils that the defender could leave the club within two years for the Spanish club.

It’s thought such a sale would be welcomed by Untied as it ‘would make it possible to balance accounts and reorder a squad that is still in the process of being rebuilt’, with the report adding that Yoro himself ‘would not look against a change of scenery if the sports proposal is convincing’.

Maguire’s future remains up in the air as his contract is up at the end of the season, meaning Yoro may just need to be patient to force his way into the United team, but Matthijs de Ligt will provide further competition when he returns to fitness, as will fellow young defender Ayden Heaven, who’s impressed when called upon this season.

Carrick added former centre-backs Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate to his coaching staff when he took on his interim role, and Maguire believes they will both be offer invaluable guidance to the young defenders in the United squad.

“He was a fantastic player. Coaching [here], he’s come in and been refreshing. He brings great energy to the group, to the sessions”, Maguire admitted about Woodgate.

“Obviously, he’s been a centre-back himself, and he’s giving me tips, and he’s definitely going to work a lot with the younger centre-backs, with Leny [Yoro], Ayden [Heaven], and Tyler [Fredricson].

“But, of course, even senior players like myself and Licha [Lisandro Martinez], we can learn from him. He’s brought great ideas, and I’ve been really impressed.”

On Evans, Maguire added: “Jonny is great to have around. The way that he handles himself and the responsibility that he took on his shoulders when he was a player, he can take that on to coaching as well.

“Just little things like in the session the other day, I was finished and was walking in and could see that Jonny was doing extra work with Leny and Ayden. Things like that, as a young boy coming through and playing on the biggest stage, sometimes you have to learn and adapt on the pitch and on the stage, but you also can’t forget that you need to improve and you need to work.

“These are young, talented centre-backs and to have Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans coaching them now and giving them little tips, it’s fantastic for them.”