When will Leny Yoro make his Manchester United debut? Realistic pre-season details

Many Manchester United fans will be eagerly awaiting for Leny Yoro to make his debut debut, but they will have to be realistic.

Wednesday morning brought some incredible news out of Erik ten Hag‘s club – Manchester United were close to hijacking Real Madrid‘s transfer for 18-year-old centre-back sensation Leny Yoro.

Yoro had flown to Manchester that day to undergo a medical with the club at their Carrington training base. There, he completed the first part of his examinations before returning on Thursday to finish and sign his contract with the club in the afternoon.

Read More: Manchester United’s ideal starting XI after Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro signings

With United having conceded over 80 goals across the 2023/24 campaign, Yoro is a signing that helps replace Raphaël Varane, who departed United following the expiry of his contract last month and is seen as a player United can mould into one of the world’s best.

The £52 million signing is not expected to become an integral part of United’s XI in the immediate future, but he will likely be increasingly involved over the next six months and eventually take his spot alongside Lisandro Martínez, the ideal centre-back pairing at Old Trafford.

Manchester United confirmed the signing on Thursday evening, announcing that the player had signed a five-year contract subject to registration.

When are his first minutes?

Unlike most times when United sign a player during the summer of international competition, Yoro will be available almost immediately following his transfer. This means he will be available to fly to the USA with the squad next week.

However, although the club’s first game will be against Arsenal at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, Yoro may not realistically make his first appearance for the club then.

This is because although Yoro will be available for training soon after he signs his deal, he has not been completing full pre-season warm-ups with Lille due to his transfer situation and is a few days behind some of his new teammates.

By the time Yoro joins the squad, the team will have played two pre-season fixtures already, meaning he will have to get back up to fitness before he can play. He may feature in a small capacity against Arsenal, but it is more likely that his first real minutes will be against Real Betis at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego the following week.

What about his official debut?

In terms of official debuts, Yoro’s first fixture could come during the opening Premier League game of the season at Old Trafford against Fulham, which would be a brilliant introduction to the fans.

There is a chance Yoro may play against Manchester City the week before during the Community Sheild, but there is debate as to whether this game is an official fixture among fans.

If his official opening minutes for the club were to be at Old Trafford as a substitute, this would help Yoro settle well into the team. Moving from France to England as an 18-year-old is not an easy move, so the club would be wise not to throw him in the deep end.

That being said, Yoro does have experience playing against Premier League teams, having faced Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League last season, where the Ligue 1 side lost out on penalties in the quarter-finals.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.