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Man Utd and Chelsea go on Ligue 1 'scouting mission' as Prem rivals get pleasant surprise
Manchester United and Chelsea have both turned their attention to France ahead of the summer transfer window.
Manchester United and Chelsea both reportedly sent scouts to Lille’s 3-0 win over Le Havre on Saturday to gather some more information about teenage defender Leny Yoro. However, both sides may have been given a bonus consideration to think about after one of Yoro's team-mates bagged all three goals in the game.
Jonathan David had a hat-trick and kept Paulo Fonseca’s side firmly in contention for a Champions League spot, bouncing back from their 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain the previous weekend. Yoro started the match as a centre-back and kept a clean sheet, continuing his impressive breakthrough season.
The 18-year-old will have drawn the attention of Europe’s elite after establishing himself as a key part of Lille’s first team and earning a call-up to France’s Under-21 squad under Thierry Henry.
HITC claim that both United and Chelsea were in attendance and their primary reason for the scouting trip was Yoro, to continue monitoring the teenager ahead of a potential future move.
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Lille currently value Yoro at £51million and he is also attracting attention from the likes of Real Madrid in addition to United and Chelsea, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival expected to kickstart large-scale changes involving the recruitment department.
United may view Yoro as a long-term successor to Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire, while fitness issues persist with Lisandro Martinez. Chelsea similarly have failed to find a stable partnership at the back under Mauricio Pochettino, with Thiago Silva also likely to depart Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
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But alongside Yoro, United and Chelsea were reminded of David. The Canadian striker was linked with a £50million move to England last summer but the Ligue 1 side’s asking price was deemed prohibitive.
Once an exit was out of the equation, the striker had an underwhelming start to the campaign that may have left Lille ruing not cashing in.
He scored just two goals before November and had been dropped for Yusuf Yazici, before returning from that international break with aplomb and now only Kylian Mbappe has scored more league goals than David this season.
Not only was David’s hat-trick a clear message to potential suitors, United and Chelsea’s scouts will have been impressed with his ability to get clear-cut chances. He broke the Expected Goals (xG) single-game record against Le Havre, taking nine shots in total with four big chances missed alongside his three goals for an xG of 3.17.