It’s all rather quiet on the transfer front at Liverpool. With Jurgen Klopp having departed and FSG building Anfield’s infrastructure back up brick by newly-made brick, supporters would be forgiven for questioning the tumbleweed skittering across the red of Merseyside.
Michael Edwards, moreover, is back, though this time in a bigger, broader, more influential role as FSG’s CEO of Football. The transfer-orchestrating mastermind returned with the aroma of thrilling market movements, but all is currently quiet.
Is this a problem? A concern? In short: no. Liverpool long conducted their business surreptitiously with Edwards involved and an exciting incoming will likely spring up unexpectedly, like Alisson in the box at the Hawthorns. Arne Slot, still integrating as head coach and lacking most of his presently international-performing squad, has already confirmed that he has been in regular contact with sporting director Richard Hughes too.
The Reds faithful will be kept waiting for now, but there has been one gem of discourse that speaks loudly of Liverpool’s intentions and desire to land the most talented players to ensure illustrious success.
Liverpool lining up new defender
According to Football Insider, Liverpool have maintained direct contact with Lille defender Leny Yoro’s representatives despite the 18-year-old’s desire to sign for Real Madrid.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein broke the news of Liverpool and Manchester United’s interest earlier in June, stressing, however, that the touted talent has also been courted by Los Blancos and is likely to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Yoro has one year remaining on his deal at Lille and there is hope at Anfield given the Ligue 1 outfit’s €60m (£51m) demands. Real Madrid are reluctant to extend a bid beyond the €40m (£34m) mark.
Leny Yoro’s season in numbers
Having broken into Lille’s first team during the 2022/23 campaign, Yoro cemented himself as a regular feature in Paulo Fonseca’s side last term, starting 30 matches in the top flight.
Described as “world-class material” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Yoro has proven himself to be both technically sound and instinctively steely in defence, ranking among the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe for pass completion last season (FBref) and winning 63% of his contested duels (Sofascore).
Also hailed as a “quick learner” by former coach Jean-Michel Vandamme, Yoro is on the fast track to elite-level success and this bespeaks his talent and the pressing need to snap him up at this fledgeling stage. Liverpool will long rue the missed chance to claim him down the line, should he join Real Madrid.
Yoro would be a revelation in Liverpool’s backline, with his precocity perhaps even setting him up to be the biggest coup that Liverpool have secured in a long time.
The reason Liverpool want Leny Yoro
Slot was signed by Liverpool for a number of reasons, with one salient aspect stemming from certain similarities to one Klopp. Make no mistake, Slot is no pastiche, mimicking his illustrious German counterpart, but instead carries subtle elements that shape his own distinctive style.
After all, the Dutchman noted when discussing parallels between his game and Pep Guardiola’s, Man City managerial extraordinaire, in 2023: “I certainly don’t want to compare myself to Pep, but he is a control freak just like me.”
Control. It’s the ultimate byword for success in this modern-shaped footballing landscape. Gone are the golden days of hoofball, the seat-lifting seasons of Sir Alex Ferguson’s direct and gritty success.
Slot, simply, is tailored for Premier League success at this contemporary stage, and Yoro would be the architect from the back. Ibrahima Konate is a strong and stylish defender but lacks fitness consistency and struggles with lapses in form. Virgil van Dijk is a galvanising leader and a world-class player but nearing his 33rd year and entering the final year of his Liverpool contract.
Quansah, aged 21 and on loan in League One only 14 months ago, would compete alongside Yoro for a regular starting berth, though the Frenchman’s reputation as a “generational talent” – a claim relayed by The Athletic’s Mario Cortegana – suggests that he could be the cream of Slot’s crop.
Liverpool indeed view the whole saga as a unique market opportunity that would christen a new era with a player of prodigious potential. Moreover, his above-discussed playing style carries hints of Van Dijk, limiting his defensive involvement and instead relying on mobility and a sharp reading of the game to snuff out danger in its infancy, akin to the Netherlands skipper.
Out of contract in one year and available for an enticingly affordable fee, Yoro could well prove to be Liverpool’s next version of Mohamed Salah, landed for a shrewd price and guided toward stardom.
A 25-year-old Salah signed for Liverpool from AS Roma in a £34m deal in 2017, having recorded 43 goals and 26 assists over three campaigns in Italy after failing to rise to the fore at Chelsea.
The rest, as they say, is history. Salah has blitzed through English and continental football like a bulldozer in a hayfield, bagging 211 goals and 89 assists across 349 fixtures for the Reds, winning the whole gamut under Klopp.
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Liverpool Line-up: Mohamed Salah’s Debut |
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Watford 3-3 Liverpool (PL: 12/08/17) |
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GK – Simon Mignolet |
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RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold |
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CB – Joel Matip |
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CB – Dejan Lovren |
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LB – Alberto Moreno |
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DM – Jordan Henderson |
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CM – Emre Can |
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CM – Gini Wijnaldum |
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RW – Mohamed Salah (G, 57′) |
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LW – Sadio Mane (G, 29′) |
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CF – Roberto Firmino (G, 55′) |
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Sourced via Transfermarkt |
Shrewdly signed ahead of his golden days, moulded into a world-beater, Salah is arguably the kingpin of Klopp’s reign, synonymous with the recent trophy-filled glory years on the red side of the River Mersey.
Yoro. Different man, different role, different circumstances, different leader. Possibly, though, the young centre-half could have the same impact, taking the Liverpool backline beyond the standard of which it has performed over these past several years and allowing Slot to foster a trophy-winning mentality that will collect Europe’s biggest prizes over the coming years.
Liverpool have undergone a period of sweeping change but plans for success have been mapped out, no doubt. Slot has the charisma and the wherewithal to engineer a prosperous period but must now push to secure his new outfit’s biggest coup since Salah.
Yoro will undoubtedly be considered among the world’s best in only a few years, perhaps even sooner.
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