Chelsea devise tactic to beat Liverpool, Man Utd to target who’s already surpassed Eden Hazard
Leny Yoro celebrating for Lille
Chelsea are eager to win the race to sign Lille player Leny Yoro, who has also caught the attention of Liverpool and Manchester United, according to a report.
90min claims Chelsea have been impressed when watching Yoro on scouting missions and are now interested in exploring the next steps. The 17-year-old plays as a defender for Lille and has made 11 appearances already this season, nine of which have been starts.
According to 90min, Liverpool and Man Utd have also taken note of Yoro, but Chelsea have a strategy to win the race to sign him – and it is one they have had success with before.
Indeed, Chelsea could allow Lille to keep Yoro on loan as part of any bid, much like they arranged with Lyon for Malo Gusto earlier this year, for example.
Lille currently have the teenager under contract until the end of next season. They will undoubtedly be keen to keep enjoying his progress, since he is one of their top five youngest debutants of all time, having made his bow at the age of 16.
A former Chelsea favourite in the shape of Eden Hazard is also in that top five, but Yoro was four months younger at the time of his debut than the Belgian winger was back in November 2007.
The next step for Lille will be to offer Yoro a new deal, but he has plenty of suitors queuing up in case he becomes available. Other than the aforementioned Premier League trio, the report claims he is also on the shortlists of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea’s interest comes amid the likelihood of them losing another defender, Trevoh Chalobah, in 2024. There are also considerations to be made about Thiago Silva as he approaches the final six months of his contract.
Chelsea could continue focus on French and youth markets
The Ligue 1 market has been a happy hunting ground for Chelsea in recent transfer windows. In defence alone, they have picked up Gusto, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile from French sides in the Todd Boehly era.
Part of their wider strategy has been to stockpile young talents who can develop in the future. As someone who has been capped by France at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 level, Yoro would also align with that policy.
As stated, though, there is no clear run at signing him just yet. Liverpool and Man Utd are also keen to evolve their defences – TEAMtalk revealed this week that both are in pursuit of Real Sociedad’s Robin Le Normand, for instance – so can be classed as threats to Chelsea in this particular transfer battle.
