Manchester United and Real Madrid may be lining up to repeat their transfer battle for Leny Yoro this summer amid interest in a star Jose Mourinho loves.
In the 2024 summer transfer window, Manchester United brought in Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte to add to Erik ten Hag’s squad.
While De Ligt and Mazraoui have gone on to thrive under new head coach Rúben Amorim, at the time, the most exciting transfer was that of then- 18-year-old French centre-back, Yoro.
Throughout the summer window, it seemed set that the sensation defender would leave Lille and sign for Real Madrid, but United worked incredibly hard to convince the youngster to instead join Old Trafford, blowing Los Blancos’ proposal out of the water.
Yoro then put pen to paper on a five-year contract after the club agreed a £52 million fee with the Ligue 1 side, with Madrid reportedly fuming at losing out on a player they saw as the future of their defence.
United and Madrid to war once again
With both clubs once again looking for a centre-back to sign this summer, it seems as if the clubs will now go head to head for another teenage defending sensation.
According to Spanish outlet AS (via Sport Witness), both Madrid and United are circling Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, who has made waves across Europe with his fantastic performances in the Premier League.
With United interested in the Spanish international, AS explain that Los Blancos see Huijsen as a star with the personality to play for a team such a Real Madrid, and this time, they may have the edge over United.
It is claimed that Huijsen is a Real Madrid fan at heart, and although they were initially planning to try and sign the youngster in 2026, they have advanced their plans and will try and secure him this summer.
Liverpool and Chelsea have also been credited with an interest, and Fabrizio Romano confirmed last month that the player has a £50 million release clause in his contract.
Mourinho is a fan of Huijsen
Before Huijsen became a headline name in the Premier League, he was initially handed his debut by Jose Mourinho at AS Roma while on loan from his old club Juventus, where the former United boss stated he immediately knew the centre-back would be a star in the future.
“Dean Huijsen has 10 minutes of football in the Serie A, but he’s one of the biggest prospects in football,” Mourinho said following the player’s senior debut. “He will be a very great player in the future.”
Unfortunately for United, the transfer saga is shaping up to have a different ending to that of Yoro’s transfer in 2024.
Read More: Erik ten Hag “keen” on surprise European job – he could save ex-Manchester United target’s career
A significant factor in Yoro’s decision to join United over Madrid was that United offered Lille a much better transfer fee than Madrid, which led to the French side pushing his entourage to accept the offer from Ten Hag’s club.
This time around, the release clause means Huijsen’s transfer fee is already est at £50 million, and with Los Blancos his boyhood club, it would be a miracle for United to pull off another transfer heist from the grasps of the La Liga giants.
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 streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.