Lille issued a startling threat to Man Utd-bound Leny Yoro if 18-year-old didn’t accept £52m move to Old Trafford

Yoro set to sign for the Red Devils, Player’s preferred choice was Real Madrid But Los Blancos refused to match Lille’s demands

United’s proposal of an initial fee of £52 million (€62m/$67.9m) with an additional £10 million in potential add-ons was significantly higher than Real Madrid’s £25 million (€30m/$32m) offer. This prompted Lille to swiftly accept the proposal from the Red Devils, despite Yoro’s preference to join Real Madrid.

According to Marca, Lille sent out a stern warning to the player that he would be spending the remaining year of his contract on the bench unless he agreed to United’s offer which ultimately forced his hand. In addition to the ultimatum, Yoro stands to earn a higher salary at Manchester United compared to what he would have received had he moved to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid, known for their strategic recruitment of young talents, were hesitant to meet Lille’s valuation of Yoro. Their battle plan of leveraging players’ desires to join them has been successful in the past, with signings like Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe – and they had hoped that the blueprint would work in Yoro’s case as well. However, Lille made sure that their academy graduate accepted the offer from the Premier League which would help them fill their coffers.

Yoro will be United’s second signing of the summer after the club recently acquired Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee for £36.5 million. Their business is believed to be far from over as they are allegedly still in the market for another centre-back, having engaged in talks with Bayern Munich over Matthijs de Ligt and with Everton for Jarrad Branthwaite.