In the Premier League, there are always new key positions that all the top clubs seem to hone their transfer business on in each notable era. One such example came back in 2019 when Liverpool signed Virgil Van Dijk for a world record fee for a defender at £75million. Since then, both Arsenal and Manchester City have brought in their own answers to that particular void through William Saliba and Ruben Dias.
Of course, the latest trend lies within spending big in defensive midfield, with the Rodri and Declan Rice debate something Liverpool must answer this summer. But in setting out this context, it is clear that there’s one club operating well behind the curve that their rivals have set about benchmarking in recent years. Manchester United, after having tried, tested, and failed with the likes of Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, are still stuck trying to work out their best plan of action in defence, let alone defensive midfield and beyond.
But through the recent acquisition of Lille’s 6ft3in central defender, Leny Yoro – who was Real Madrid’s priority target this summer – they may finally have their own candidate for the Premier League’s best centre-back ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, and by comparing his stats last season with his rivals for that status, Old Trafford regulars are offered a glimpse into how well he could fare – and it makes for exciting reading.
Yoro’s Stats vs Van Dijk
Liverpool’s colossus is still the gold standard
As mentioned in the introduction, Van Dijk was the Premier League signing that kick-started the high turnover of brilliant centre-backs making their way over to England. But while the first doesn’t always mean the best, this case can definitely be put forward by the Dutchman. Whereas everyone compares other defenders to the Premier League great as a measure of success, the Liverpool defender’s performances are determined based on how many times he’s dribbled past in a season.
Judging by the statistics below, there’s still a long way to go for Yoro to match that gold standard. But, that said, there are a lot of noteworthy comments of praise. Certainly, it must be remembered that the French league is far inferior to the English topflight, but with better passing accuracy recorded last season – alongside comparable long ball accuracy – the 18-year-old shows decent signs of replicating Van Dijk’s formidable playing style. However, one major drawback is his lack of success in aerial duels, despite standing at 6ft3in.
Leny Yoro vs Virgil Van Dijk – 23/24 stats (per 90) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistic (per 90) | Leny Yoro | Virgil Van Dijk |
Goals | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Passing Accuracy (%) | 92.16 | 91.47 |
Long Pass Accuracy (%) | 52.26 | 62.4 |
Duels Contested | 5.6 | 7.4 |
Tackles Made | 1.3 | 1.2 |
Fouls From Tackle Attempts | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Fouls | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Aerial Duels Contested | 2.4 | 4.9 |
Aerial Duel Success (%) | 64.79 | 81.4 |
Ground Duels Contested | 3.2 | 2.5 |
Ground Duel Success (%) | 61.05 | 63.95 |
Clearances | 3.3 | 4.1 |
Interceptions | 1.3 | 1.2 |
Blocked Shots | 0.5 | 1 |
Ball Recoveries | 4.2 | 4.9 |
Yoro’s Stats vs Saliba
Both defenders are premium rising stars
William Saliba has been a rolls-royce for Arsenal in the last two seasons as the Gunners have pushed Man City to the wire in hotly-contested Premier League title showdowns. But, at just 23-years-old, the Frenchman is expected to only improve as Mikel Arteta continues to stamp his authority in north London, with him being tipped to be a – if not ‘the’ – vital cog in a system tailored towards winning trophies for up to a decade.
This is very similar to Yoro, who, at 18-years-old, is still learning the tricks of the trade. Last season, however, he achieved a better duel success rate than his Arsenal rival, both on the ground and in the air. Of course, this makes for promising reading for those of an Old Trafford persuasion, and his superior interceptions statistic is a startling indication of just how fast he is. Tall, strong and fast centre-backs with long legs are cheat codes in the modern game, and the Van Dijk/Saliba formula could pay dividends.
Leny Yoro vs William Saliba – 23/24 stats (per 90) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistic (per 90) | Leny Yoro | William Saliba |
Goals | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Passing Accuracy (%) | 92.16 | 92.57 |
Long Pass Accuracy (%) | 52.26 | 53.97 |
Duels Contested | 5.6 | 6.2 |
Tackles Made | 1.3 | 1.1 |
Fouls From Tackle Attempts | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Fouls | 0.7 | 0.6 |
Aerial Duels Contested | 2.4 | 3.2 |
Aerial Duel Success (%) | 64.79 | 59.50 |
Ground Duels Contested | 3.2 | 3 |
Ground Duel Success (%) | 61.05 | 59.82 |
Clearances | 3.3 | 2.1 |
Interceptions | 1.3 | 0.8 |
Blocked Shots | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Ball Recoveries | 4.2 | 5.7 |
Yoro’s Stats vs Dias
United’s new man has a height advantage over their City rivals
In most cases, Pep Guardiola must be different. There just always seems to be an inclination to stick out like a sore thumb, and this was, again, unquestionably so when he chose to stray away from the Van Dijk and Saliba paradigms and opt for a slightly shorter, more nimble central defender in the shape of Ruben Dias.
As is similarly true with these circumstances, it works out nine times out of ten. With a passing success rate better than any other central defender in the Premier League last season, the Portuguese international may be a little on the cautious side, but with yet another league title under his belt as a result, nobody could possibly blame the world-class English top-flight star.
The most promising statistic for United fans in this final section is that Leny Yoro has equalled or bettered Dias in a lot of categories, despite needing to muck in more. This will be a relief for many who are aware that United’s playing style under Erik ten Hag allows more opportunities the other way, while Guardiola’s teams have always been built to dominate. In layman’s terms, Yoro doesn’t mind being busy.
Leny Yoro vs Ruben Dias – 23/24 stats (per 90) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistic (per 90) | Leny Yoro | Ruben Dias |
Goals | 0.1 | 0 |
Passing Accuracy (%) | 92.16 | 94.1 |
Long Pass Accuracy (%) | 52.26 | 60.43 |
Duels Contested | 5.6 | 6.4 |
Tackles Made | 1.3 | 1.4 |
Fouls From Tackle Attempts | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Fouls | 0.7 | 0.9 |
Aerial Duels Contested | 2.4 | 3.2 |
Aerial Duel Success (%) | 64.79 | 52.22 |
Ground Duels Contested | 3.2 | 3.2 |
Ground Duel Success (%) | 61.05 | 60 |
Clearances | 3.3 | 2.7 |
Interceptions | 1.3 | 1.1 |
Blocked Shots | 0.5 | 0.6 |
Ball Recoveries | 4.2 | 3.9 |
Final Verdict on Yoro
Premier League will make or break United’s next hit and hope star
Conclusively, it’s very difficult to compare Yoro to current top Premier League centre-backs. He is currently just 18-years-old, and with much of his footballing experience up until this point coming under the berated guise of Ligue 1, the average viewer or critic would contest that he’s yet to prove himself.
With that being said, though, the fact that the same scouts that identified Van Dijk as Liverpool’s main man back in 2019 also prioritised the new Man United acquisition this summer – along with the chiefs over at Real Madrid following their record-extending 15th Champions League title – there is definitely a lot of clamour around his signature that suggests he’s the real deal, especially as he’s not far behind or already bettering elite defenders in multiple areas.
Meanwhile, his playing style replicates that of Saliba and Van Dijk – with his long legs, pace, strength, height, and ball-playing ability matching the prototype of any defender in the last decade to have made it big in the footballing world. For that reason alone, United fans can feel pretty confident their new signing has what it takes to finally allow the Old Trafford outfit to move on from their centre-back conundrum, just as their rivals did years ago, especially when the teenager’s stats can already bring comparison articles to the fore.