Chelsea tracking Man Utd, Liverpool linked Ligue 1 ace as Pochettino eyes long-term Chalobah upgrade
Chelsea are reportedly keeping tabs on 17-year-old Lille centre-back Leny Yoro, with Manchester United and Liverpool also keen on the youngster.
Yoro became Lille’s second-youngest debutant, overtaking Eden Hazard, when he made his first appearance towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The defender has since become one of Lille’s most important players, starting seven of the French club’s eight league matches so far this season, helping his team to four clean sheets in the process.
Yoro is considered to be one of the most exciting young players in Europe, so it’s no surprise to see Premier League clubs keeping an eye on him.
Chelsea have a history of signing young stars from France. Centre-back pair Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi are two examples, as well as right-back Malo Gusto.
Now, according to 90min, Chelsea could repeat that trick by making a move for Yoro at some point in the future.
The report claims that Blues scouts have been ‘thoroughly impressed’ with Yoro’s performances this season, who has ‘firmly established himself as one of Europe’s most in-demand young defenders.’
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90min add that Paris Saint-Germain have also ‘tracked’ Yoro as well as Atletico Madrid. Man Utd and Liverpool are also ‘aware’ of the teenager’s progress, but are yet to ‘advance their interest.’
With that in mind, we could potentially see several bids come in for Yoro in the January window. Given his importance to Lille, however, he is unlikely to come cheap. Yoro is under contract until 2025 but Lille are reportedly keen to tie him down to an extension.
Should Chelsea make a move for Yoro, it’s thought that they would look to do a deal that would see the defender remain with his current club on loan until the end of the season – a strategy that they used with Gusto and fellow new signing Christopher Nkunku.
The Blues’ interest in the Lille golden boy comes amid speculation about the future of Trevoh Chalobah. The 24-year-old has fallen down the pecking order in recent months and it seems very likely that he will leave in the January window.
Yoro could therefore be Chalobah’s ideal replacement, and could be an excellent long-term investment given his potential. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea do make a concrete bid for the Frenchman this winter.
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