Not Worth €70m: How good is Leny Yoro compared to Europe's youngest defenders

Leny Yoro, with a total cost of €70 million, is second only to Anthony Martial in terms of the most expensive teenage acquisition for United. The youngster had a lot of the big boys on his tail in the summer as PSG and Real Madrid saw bids rebuffed. 

Being the only defender under 23 in Europe's top five leagues to win over 60% of his aerial and ground duels as well as complete over 90% of his passes, he comes to Old Trafford with great promise. 

But given the Red Devils' own fair share of fruitless transactions and unrealised potential in recent years—as shown by the just-departed Martial—is Yoro really worth the hype, at least on paper? 

This piece attempts to compare Leny Yoro's attributes with those of defenders in his age range. Prioritising centerbacks who are either 21 or younger and have accumulated at least 1000 minutes throughout Europe's top 5 divisions in the 2023–24 season, his equivalent counterparts are:

1. Abakar Sylla
2. Castello Lukeba
3. Chadi Riad
4. Cristhian Mosquera
5. Diego Coppola
6. Giorgio Scalvini
7. Isaak Touré
8. Jarell Quansah
9. Nathan Zézé
10. Nathaniel Adjei
11. Pau Cubarsí
12. Soungoutou Magassa

Given this juxtaposition, therefore, how gifted is Leny Yoro, Manchester's newest prodigy? 

Defensive attributes

Although attacking qualities are given top priority in today's game, the main statistic showing a defender's quality is his tackling ability. Regarding metrics, the French prodigy falls below his contemporaries in the top divisions of Europe. Yoro gets commendably dribbled past just once per 180 minutes, resulting in a season-long tackle success rate above 71%. 

Yet he ranks 11th, about 20% less than first-placed Nathaniel Adjei of Lorient (90%) and Castello Lukeba (89%), both 21-year-olds among the 13 under-21 defenders who have played a thousand minutes or more in the 2023/24 league season in Europe's major leagues. However, both these centre-backs challenge far fewer duels than Yoro, therefore distorting the comparison. 

Still, all seven players who attempt more tackles per game than Yoro still have greater success rates when limiting the playing field, which begs issues about the $60 million price tag.

With 81% one-on-one duel accuracy, another French-based defender—21-year-old Abakar Sylla of Strasbourg—offers the best value for money based on this measure. 

Contextually, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, allegedly the best 1v1 defender in the Premier League, commands a rate of 84%, while William Saliba, voted as the best defender for the just-concluded season, boasts a tackle success rate of 85%. Yoro thus falls far short of the league's criteria for successful defenders. 

Actually, our comparative study revealed that 21-year-old Jarell Quansah of Liverpool is the best young defender in the Premier League based on this criterion since his 79% tackling accuracy accumulated over 1130 minutes of game time outpaces the new Red Devil recruit. 

Clearances

Due to their great positional awareness, defenders who usually avoid 1v1 duels are quite smart readers of the game who can sweep their zones before attackers pounce. With an eye-catching 3.2 clearances per game, Yoro displays great intellect to outsmart even the toughest of attackers in this measure. 

But in many cases, this statistic could be misleading since it favours players of teams under constant opposition-related pressure. Consider Europe's top defensive teams, Manchester City and Arsenal, who faced the least amount of shots, for easier understanding. Both teams' incredibly disciplined setups are highlighted by the absence of centre-backs whose clearance average exceeded 2.9 per game. 

Fascinatingly, Leny Yoro's old team, Lille, has a very compact rearguard that ranks fourth in Europe in terms of shots conceded per game, outperforming even PSG. This titbit gives Yoro's 3.2 per game clearance count even more polish. 

Compared with Diego Coppola's 4.8 and Nathaniel Adjei's 4.4 tackles per game, he ranks 9th among his contemporaries in this criterion, but this does not present a whole picture. Therefore, we relate the player's clearing count to the number of shots his team faces each game to offer a more realistic breakdown. The higher it is, the better.

Considering this, Yoro ranks sixth among his contemporaries with a score of 0.336, a few paces behind top-ranked 21-year-old Chadi Riad of Real Betis (0.362) and second-placed Diego Coppola (0.356). 

With his league-high score of 0.39 separating him as the most elite of centre-backs in terms of positional awareness, Liverpool's revolutionary defender Virgil Van Dijk sets the benchmark in the Premier League. 

Aerials

With their rearguard peeled open almost four times easier than league-best Arsenal, no team in the European top leagues conceded more chances from set pieces and dead ball situations than Manchester United. In this regard, United is looking for a centre-back who can soar through the air like a 747 and dominate his opponent aerially like a fierce predator. 

Here, Yoro's 1.9-meter frame should be of significant advantage since it surpasses two of the league's top aerial goal threats, Erling Haaland (1.94) and Chris Wood (1.91 m). But given Jarod Bowen and Ollie Watkins, the joint leading scorers for headed goals, are both of diminutive height at 1.73 and 1.8 m, respectively, statistics have proved that height on paper does not practically translate to aerial domination.

Leny Yoro remains rock bottom among his contemporaries in this sense, challenging a pitiful 2.4 aerial duels each game, almost three times less than Diego Coppola (7 per game). 

But since the French prefer ground duels over aerials, this figure more reflects the style of play in Ligue 1 than the player himself. 

In fact, only one French team, Brest (21st), is in the top 40 among the teams engaged in the most aerial ball contests in Europe's top 5 leagues. Furthermore, among the major 5 leagues, the average aerial duel of 24.61 per game in the French Ligue 1 is the lowest. 

This in mind, we turn our attention to a far more conclusive statistic: aerial duel win accuracy. Yoro ranks third among his contemporaries here with a 66.7% victory rate, behind only Isaak Touré (70.4%) and Jarell Quansah (68.6%). When compared to the top players in the Premier League, such as William Saliba (59%) and Ruben Dias (53%), it also makes for interesting reading, but it pales greatly when compared to the 81% of Virgil Van Dijk.

Progressive attributes

Modern football has evolved to prefer ball-playing centre-backs, with many of the belief that all attacks should start from the defence. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that this would have been a key factor taken into account when Manchester United opted to commit €70 million in a rather unknown player. 

Yoro ranks fifth among his colleagues in this respect, averaging over 60 touches of the ball every game. With his numbers even better than Van Dijk's 91%, his passing accuracy of 92.5% ranks him among an elite handful and tops the leaderboard rankings.

However, this is only remarkable on paper since his passes result in essentially sideways and backwards layoffs. In fact, Yoro comes in tenth among his colleagues in terms of progressive passes per game. 

His 2.29 progressive pass average per game is well below the 5.97 of Soungout Magassa and Jarell Quansah. Given he generates only 0.07 chances per game, he also seems to lack the eagle vision anticipated of defenders billed to split the opposition's rearguard with accurate cannonballs. 

With 0.39 chances per game, Giorgio Scalvini is about six times better at the top of the podium, while Isaak Touré (0.3) is also lightyears ahead. 

The Frenchman also manifests a tendency to abstain from his team's attacking efforts since he ranks eighth in shot-creating actions, significantly less than most of his contemporaries. 

Yoro ranks 10th with an average of 1 progressive carry of the ball every 4 games; hence he is also less likely to make barnstorming forward runs. Jarell Quansah of Liverpool averages one every game, although he still ranks third behind toppers Giorgio Scalvini of Atalanta and Souleymane Touré of Lorient. 

Conclusion: Is Leny Yoro worth €70 million? A mixed bag of promise and risk

Leny Yoro offers Old Trafford certain assets, especially in passing accuracy and intelligent positional awareness, but his total defensive stats indicate that he might not yet be at the level expected for a €70 million purchase. 

For a Premier League centre-back, his shortcomings—particularly in relation to tackle efficiency, progressive play, and chance creation—are significant. 

Potential impact on Manchester United

The recent defensive problems Manchester United has experienced, especially with relation to set pieces, emphasise the need for a strong and dependable centre-back. 

With Yoro's 66.7% aerial duel success rate, some of these problems might be addressed, and the backline would have much-needed aerial presence. His somewhat low frequency of contested aerial duels and poorer tackling success rate (71%) compared to his colleagues, however, could compromise this possible influence. 

Yoro's present stats might not be sufficient in the fast-paced and physically demanding Premier League, where defenders must make rapid, forceful tackles under constant pressure. 

Development and adaptability

Yoro still has room for development and is still young. His remarkable 92.5% passing accuracy points to his ability to fit a team that prizes ball retention and attacking play. 

Yoro might increase his tackling accuracy and participate more in progressing plays under appropriate guidance and in a motivating surroundings, but his poor average of 2.29 progressive passes per game, when compared to leaders like Soungoutou Magassa (5.97) and Jarell Quansah (5.08), highlights a lack of forward-thinking play—which is absolutely vital for undermining opponent defences. 

Furthermore, his low chance production rate of 0.07 every game is behind peers like Giorgio Scalvini (0.39) and Isaak Touré (0.31). 

Comparative analysis with peers

Several defenders in crucial areas stand out from their peers in terms of metrics: 

1. Jarell Quansah: He not only participates more actively in progressive plays but also exceeds Yoro in addressing accuracy (79%) and aerial duel victory percentage (68.6%). He is a safer bet because of his broad skill set and competitive league experience. 
2. Giorgio Scalvini: He shines in creating chances and making progressive carries, producing 0.39 chances per game, ahead of Yoro's 0.07. For a side like Manchester United, which depends on fast counterattacks, Scalvini's ability to move from defence to attack and generate chances would have been rather priceless. 
3. Diego Coppola: He distinguished himself with his incredible positional awareness and astounding clearance rate—4.8 per game. His capacity to read the game and make pivotal interceptions could provide more instant defensive steadiness than Yoro. 

Final assessment

Leny Yoro is a young defender with great potential but also with some areas needing development. Although his passing and clearances are excellent, his shortcomings in addressing tackle efficiency, progressive play, and chance creation raise questions about his Premier League preparedness. 

Given his present performance criteria, the €70 million fee seems high, indicating that Manchester United made a rather risky investment in him. Other young defenders provide more balanced skill sets and higher value compared to all-around. 

While Soungoutou Magassa's outstanding progressive passing average points to a more forward-thinking approach, Giorgio Scalvini's superior chance creation and Isaak Touré's highlight their ability to significantly help the team's offensive play. 

The excellent clearance rate and positional awareness of Diego Coppola reflect even further the range of well-rounded, maybe less dangerous choices accessible. 

Yoro could, however, become a major Red Devil player if he can adjust and grow under the right environment. Right now, his signing represents both a long-term bet on his future development and a gamble. Whether he can meet the great expectations and become a pillar in Manchester United's defence will depend critically on the next few seasons.