PORTRAIT – An indisputable starter at LOSC at just 18 years old, the French central defender will be scrutinized during the quarter-final second leg of the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
One wonders if they are not designed in a specialized laboratory. “We talk a lot about Warren Zaire-Emery, also because he plays for PSG, he plays in the Champions League and he has just joined the A. But Leny is doing a huge job at the moment”, praised the coach of the French junior team, Thierry Henry, last November. Leny Yoro, 18, is high on the long list of promising young footballers in France. Like the confusing Zaire-Emery, his midweeks are still punctuated by the beautiful evenings of the European Cups.
“What he is doing is extraordinary”, insisted Henry in November. Yoro, central defender, is the 2nd most used outfield player at LOSC this season. If it was Jocelyn Gourvennec who launched him into the pros on May 14, 2022 (at 16 years, 6 months and 2 days), it was Paulo Fonseca, appointed coach a month later, who polished the nugget. “Lille’s objective is not to be champion, the Portuguese recently explained to Transfer Room . It is to create an attractive playing philosophy for supporters and to promote young players. It’s part of my job.”
Yoro, a “professional” and “well-educated” boy
This is why he didn’t “not afraid to trust” to Yoro, who “will be one of the best central defenders in France and probably in Europe”. With astonishing maturity, the slender Lille native (1.90 m) brilliantly manages the depth behind the Mastiffs’ defense, they who are used to dominating and playing high up the pitch. He is also solid in duels (64% won this season) and above all easy on the ball.
Leny Yoro, here with the French U23 team last March, could play in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Baptiste Autissier / Panoramic
Fonseca sees in him someone “very balanced”. “He’s professional, he’s a good guy, well educated”, adds Henry. Leny is the son of Alain Yoro, who also went through the LOSC training center without turning professional. Born in Saint-Maurice (Val-de-Marne), the young player has been a resident of Lille since 2017, after five years in Villeneuve-d’Ascq. It is in the image of “the new generation” who is “a little more ready, who has a little more guts”, Judge Henry. In line with international A players such as Kylian Mbappé, Eduardo Camavinga and Warren Zaire-Emery.
A certain margin for progress
Getting fired up is tempting. But we will have to wait before seeing the name Yoro in the mouth of Didier Deschamps. Firstly because France has an exceptional reservoir at its post. Then because it hasn’t finished hatching. “He always has some reactions from young people, there are always things to refine and that’s normal”, noted Henry. On the pitch at Aston Villa last week (2-1 defeat), the young defender suffered against Ollie Watkins, a 28-year-old English international with 19 goals in 32 Premier League matches. “It is age, justified Fonseca. He is still only 18 years old. He has sometimes shown inexperience in contacts, in duels, but he will continue to improve.
It remains to be seen which club will benefit from his progress. PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea: all the biggest clubs in Europe have checked his name. Last November, Yoro joined Gestifute, the company of Jorge Mendes, the most famous agent in the world whose clients include Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and… Zaire-Emery. Lille would demand €60 million to let him leave this summer.
The Madrid press has been saying for two weeks that Real is holding the rope to attract the Frenchman, who would arrive in the shadow of Mbappé. The summer promises to be busy, with him in a good position to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Before that, there is an exciting end to the season with Lille, 4th in Ligue 1 and who must win at home against Aston Villa this Thursday (9 p.m.). “He is having an exemplary start to his career”, Thierry Henry said of him. After 90 difficult minutes in Birmingham, Yoro has the same time allowed to rectify the situation against the Villans.
