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Liverpool resigned to losing race for highly-rated defender to Real Madrid
Liverpool looks set to give up on its efforts to land Leny Yoro, with the Reds expectant Real Madrid will win the race to sign the highly-rated French defender.
The 18-year-old looks set to leave Ligue 1 side Lille this summer. Liverpool, alongside a host of European giants including Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, had been strongly linked with a move for the Lille star.
However, it now looks as though the Reds believe Yoro will be headed to Spain this summer to join Real Madrid. The Athletic reports Liverpool had been weighing up whether or not to enter the market for a defender in the wake of Joel Matip's departure.
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One of the players they had considered bringing in had been Yoro, whom they still retain a strong interest in. However, they add the Reds expect Real Madrid to win the race to sign Yoro. Failure to sell this summer would see Lille lose one of Europe's standout talents for nothing next year, with Yoro out of contract in 2025. A fee of around $54m has been mooted for the 18-year-old.
A prospective move to join the Spanish giants for Yoro would also see him link up with French skipper Kylian Mbappe, as well as compatriots Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy. And it would also see Real Madrid continue their drive to bring the best young talent on the planet to the Bernabeu.
Yoro is not the only defender Liverpool has been linked with this summer either. Links to Bologna's Riccardo Calafiori continue to persist, with Reds sporting director Richard Hughes reportedly a huge fan of the Italian defender.
Right now, Liverpool currently has four first team center-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah.
All four are excellent players but Van Dijk will turn 33 next week, Konate has struggled with injuries the last two seasons and Quansah is still young. Therefore, while the Reds do have depth in defense at center-back, it would be pertinent for them to bring in a top quality defender this summer.
