Rio Ferdinand has launched a passionate plea for Manchester United to sign French wonderkid Leny Yoro.
The 18-year-old, who has been branded the ‘next Virgil van Dijk‘, enjoyed a superb season with Lille, prompting Europe’s leading clubs with an interest in acquiring his services.
The centre-back who made his debut for Lille aged just 16, leapfrogged Chelsea legend Eden Hazard in becoming the second-youngest player to play for the Ligue 1 club.
Yoro has taken to top-flight football with ease, quickly asserting himself as a starter for the 2021 Ligue 1 Champions.
The Yoro hype train is in full motion and it appears Ferdinand is fully on board, should Manchester United turn their attention to the teenager.
“There’s an 18-year-old, I’d love him to come to Manchester United,” Ferdinand told FIVE.
“If you’re watching Leny Yoro, please accept Man United,” the former Red Devils defender pleaded. “Man United please make the offer and please accept because with this kid, his ceiling is as high as anybody right now, [William] Saliba included.
“Physically, he’s not as developed (as Saliba) but he’s a different type of centre-half. He’s quick, he tries to nibble and get in front. He can play, he’s tall and mobile.”
It’s easy to see why the Man United legend is a fan of Yoro who resembles Ferdinand in style and build.
Yoro plays with a confidence and swagger befitting that of Ferdinand when he burst onto the scene at West Ham.
The Lille star has shown his quality both in domestic and European football with arguably his best performance coming during his personal duel with Kylian Mbappe in a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain last December.
Yoro impressively matched Mbappe for pace and restricted the 2018 World Cup winner to scraps in a clash that prompted PSG chiefs to place an offer for the defender in January.
Lille rebuffed PSG’s advances, preferring to keep the player until the summer, but the secret is now out and Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United have all joined the growing list of suitors.
Real Madrid currently lead the way for Yoro who has been reportedly advised to stay put at Lille for the coming campaign to pave the way for a free transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu next summer.
With French football stuck in a new financial crisis due to the failure to strike a broadcasting deal ahead of the new campaign which kicks off in five-weeks time, Lille can ill-afford to lose its biggest asset for nothing.
A sizeable bid from Manchester United could change the trajectory of Yoro’s future with an exit almost guaranteed within the next 12 months.