Liverpool and Man Utd ‘actively pursuing deal’ to sign wonderkid branded as ‘the next William Saliba’

Liverpool and Manchester United are reportedly pursuing a deal to sign a Lille wonderkid likened to William Saliba.

On Thursday evening, The Athletic’s David Ornstein wrote on social media: “ Liverpool + Man Utd actively pursuing deal to sign Leny Yoro from Lille. #LFC & #MUFC see Real Madrid as favourites but pushing hard for 18yo centre-back - viewed as unique market opportunity separate to other targets. #PSG keen too @TheAthleticFC #RMFC.”

Due to his impressive performances at the heart of the Lille defence, Yoro has often been labelled as the new Saliba.

His Lille teammate, Remy Cabella said, via GOAL: “"At Marseille, I knew Boubacar Kamara, at Saint-Etienne, William Saliba and Wesley Fofana, and now there's Leny Yoro.

“He has all the qualities and potential to do something huge. He's very humble, and that's another of his strengths.”

Speaking about his qualities, Lille boss Paulo Fonseca previously said: “It's not normal to have an 18 year old player like Leny with this maturity and the technical qualities he has.

“For me, he will be one of the best central defenders in France and probably in Europe. He is very balanced, and there is no doubt that he will be a very great player.”

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Lille’s academy manager, Jean-Michel Vandamme added: “Leny is a quick learner. He wants to excel and has a real interest in analysing different situations and understanding them, while putting himself under controlled pressure.

“When the coach and staff give him advice, he listens, absorbs and applies it. The same is true when he receives advice from his team-mates.”

He continued: “He's got a good sense of movement and good timing, but when it comes to defensive aerial play, as he's more on his back foot, I think he still needs to improve.

“He still needs to work on his strength.”

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