32-year-old defender Joel Matip has left Liverpool and Virgil Van Dijk is approaching veteran status at 33. He is still active as a defensive leader, but age-related decline could come at any time.
As a long-term successor, Liverpool have been looking at Lille’s France Under-23 defender Leny Yoro. After 46 appearances in Ligue 1, he showed high potential and became the subject of interest from some of Europe’s best clubs.
In addition to Real Madrid, the player’s preferred club, Liverpool, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain were also following the player’s movements. However, Liverpool and PSG have withdrawn from the race, French newspaper Le Parisien reported.
Real Madrid, the club of interest, do not intend to enter the offer war and are in no hurry, saying they are fine with waiting until their contract expires in June 2025 to acquire the player. Manchester United, on the other hand, are preparing an offer of between 40 and 50 million euros and have a long-term contract until June 2029.
The Spanish capital club is still seen as the priority, but with two clubs having reduced their interest, the transfer talks could move quickly.
Will the promising young centre-back decide to make the step up this summer, or will he choose to spend another season in France and go to Madrid next summer?