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Manchester United are set to win the race to sign Leny Yoro (Getty)

Manchester United are closing in on a deal to sign Leny Yoro with the Lille defender travelling to the UK to undergo a medical, according to reports.

United are looking to sign at least one new centre-back this summer and the 18-year-old is on their shortlist alongside Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.

It’s understood that United’s €50 million (£42.2m) bid for Yoro has been accepted by Lille, but the Premier League club faced strong competition from Real Madrid.

It’s understood that Yoro preferred a switch to Madrid this summer, however, the Champions League holders did not match United’s offer and their highest bid is €20m (£16.8m).

In contrast, United’s offer comprised of €50m (£42.2m) up front plus a further €12m (£10m) in add-ons.

According to The Athletic, Yoro has now ‘warmed to the idea’ of joining United and is travelling to Manchester with his family to complete a medical and finalise his contract.

Lille defender Leny Yoro against Kylian Mbappe
Leny Yoro had initially preferred a move to Real Madrid (Getty)

Yoro will become United’s second signing of the summer after they secured a £36.5 million deal for Joshua Zirkzee last week.

United have already had two bids turned down by Everton for Branthwaite, the latest of which was £45m plus a further £5m in add-ons.

Everton are understood to value the 22-year-old at closer to £70m and are not prepared to sell for less.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are refusing to rule out the prospect of selling De Ligt following United’s approach for the Netherlands international this month.

‘The transfer period is still long,’ Bayern’s sporting director Christoph Freund said on Tuesday.

‘We currently have a very, very good squad. We cannot rule out whether anything will change then – including some who could leave the club. There is a lot of speculation at the moment, but we cannot say more about it at the moment.’

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