Man Utd youngster explains club legend’s role in £52m Old Trafford transfer

Manchester United newcomer Leny Yoro has revealed that Rio Ferdinand helped convince him to join the Premier League club this summer. 

Real Madrid had an interest in signing the 18-year-old, but the Red Devils made an attractive offer and sealed a £52 million transfer. 

The youngster was impressive on his non-competitive debut against Rangers last week at Murrayfield Stadium in United’s first pre-season friendly.

He posted some excellent statistics, helping his team to a comfortable 2-0 victory. The Frenchman won all of his tackles and duels, while his pass accuracy was 92 percent. 

Yoro has now revealed Rio Ferdinand played a significant role in convincing him to move to Old Trafford. 

“It was two weeks ago [when I first spoke to Rio],” Yoro told Manutd.com. “He called me. First of all, I was really impressed to speak with him, and we spoke for ten minutes about Man Utd.

“He helped me a lot to make my choice. It was really an honour to speak with him.

“He spoke to me about the club, and that this is a historic club with a big story, and if I go there I need to fight for the club, to be ready, because this is the biggest club in the world. It was really good to speak about this.”

Man United endured a largely underwhelming 2023-24 campaign, finishing eighth in the Premier League. They conceded 58 league goals. 

Lisandro Martinez remained sidelined for most of the campaign, and the team struggled in his absence. 

United have focused on improving the defence during the ongoing summer transfer window. 

They allowed Raphael Varane to leave on a free transfer and brought in a younger replacement.

They are also pursuing a deal for Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt and have been linked with Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite.