Man Utd ‘ready to pay £51m transfer asking price for Leny Yoro’ but French wonderkid wants to snub them for another club

MANCHESTER UNITED want to sign Lille star Leny Yoro but he prefers a move to Real Madrid, reports suggest.

United will need defensive reinforcement in the upcoming summer transfer window following a turbulent campaign and the departure of Raphael Varane.

Manchester United want to sign Leny Yoro but he prefers Real MadridGetty

Man Utd have tabled a bid worth ‘above the market’ for Lille star Yoro

MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest deals and rumours from Old Trafford

According to Marca, Yoro, 18, is among the Red Devils’ top targets and the Premier League giants have made a bid “above the market” worth €60million (£51m).

But the centre-back is also courted by Real and he has told the European champions that he wants to join them.

Contacts between the two sides have not ceased and Los Blancos have instructed the France Under-23 international as well as his representatives to be patient and resist higher bids from other clubs.

The Spanish champions have many decisions to make and there are “pieces that must fit together” before any further transfer reinforcement.

Real recently landed Kylian Mbappe and that was a deal that took a lot of doing following a long saga that dragged for years.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side view Yoro as a “strategic” signing and one for the future.

However, that doesn’t mean the Madrid outfit are taking the competition lightly.

United, on the other hand, are looking to shake things up following a dramatic campaign.

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The Manchester giants finished eighth in the Premier League, which is their worst finish since 1990.

Manager Erik ten Hag has come under fire and is facing the sack despite winning the FA Cup over rivals and Prem champions Manchester City.

United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe will soon announce his decision regarding Ten Hag and that will have an immense effect on the club’s transfer activity.

Yoro shone bright this season and amassed a total of three goals in 44 appearances.

It’s starting to look like Sir Jim Ratcliffe doesn’t know what he’s doing

By Neil Custis

SIR JIM RATCLIFFE looked more than a little shame-faced when he headed into Manchester United’s dressing room to congratulate his FA Cup winners.

The plan had already been hatched ahead of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Manchester City . . .  and this was all rather awkward.

It was a stunning performance from Ten Hag’s troops and United’s triumph over a team widely regarded as the best in the world will live long in the memory.

It was also a personal triumph for the unassuming guy who had arrived at Old Trafford full of life and ideas to make United better — which in many ways he has.

Having been dealt a dreadful hand with injuries in his second season, he tried to explain to Ratcliffe and his team just how much this has affected performances.

But it seems Sir Jim hasn’t listened. Nor has he taken notice of the way Ten Hag  has carefully brought Saturday’s scorers  Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo into the first team — with spectacular results.

Ratcliffe has fired out emails criticising  the state of an office, called the club museum ‘crap’ and withdrew travel and lunch benefits for United staff on FA Cup  final day to cut costs.

There is early proof the new men overseeing United’s football department do not know what they are doing, not least in the way they deal with people . . .  including the most important one of all — the manager.

Ratcliffe and his team seem to have  spoken to anyone able to set up Subbuteo.

And everyone they have spoken to believes they have got the job.

Read the full column from Neil Custis here