Manchester United sign Leny Yoro from Lille, Marseille sign United's Mason Greenwood

Manchester United have completed the signing of 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro from French Ligue 1 side Lille, the clubs confirmed Thursday.

United agreed a fee of €62 million ($67.6m), plus a potential €8m ($8.7m) in add-ons, to sign the France under-21 international, sources told ESPN.

Yoro has joined United despite interest from Real Madrid, after sources told ESPN that the Spanish side opted against engaging in a bidding war with the Premier League club for the centre-half.

Sources added that Yoro told Madrid of his intention to sign for United on Tuesday night after the Spanish club failed to make a move to sign him.

"Signing for a club with the stature and ambition of Manchester United so early in my career is an incredible honour," Yoro said as part of the announcement. "Since my first conversations with the club, they set out a clear plan for how I can develop in Manchester as part of this exciting project, and showed a lot of care for me and my family.

"I know about the history of young players at Manchester United and feel it can be the perfect place to reach my potential and achieve my ambitions, together with my new teammates. I cannot wait to get started."

The defender will join Joshua Zirkzee, who signed from Bologna on Sunday, at Old Trafford.

Both signings were supported by the club's new football leadership put into place over the last few months following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner, as well as club scouts and manager Erik ten Hag, sources said.

"Leny is one of the most exciting young defenders in world football; he possesses every attribute needed to develop into a top-class centre-back," Man United's new sporting director Dan Ashworth said in a club statement. "Having had such an excellent start to his career we are excited to support him in reaching his immense potential here at Manchester United.

"This club has a fantastic record of developing young players, whether homegrown or brought in from elsewhere, and giving them the required guidance, time and patience to grow and flourish. Under Erik ten Hag and our excellent staff we will ensure that Leny has the perfect platform to achieve the success that everyone across the club is aiming for."

Zirkee and Yoro effectively replace forward Anthony Martial and defender Raphaël Varane after the experienced duo departed the club earlier this summer.

The club has not ruled out making further defensive signings, sources told ESPN, with the club continuing to admire Bayern Munich's Matthijs de Ligt and Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite. However, the transfer fees remain a potential stumbling block with ESPN reporting that United have already had a £50 million ($64m) bid rejected for Branthwaite,

Yoro is regarded as one of the brightest young defensive talents in Europe after becoming a first-team regular at Lille. He made his senior debut as a 16-year-old at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Meanwhile, Marseille have completed the signing of Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, the Ligue 1 club have confirmed.

Sources have told ESPN that the deal is worth £26.7 million ($35m) and includes add-ons and a substantial sell-on clause.

Greenwood has not played for United since being suspended by the club in January 2022 after being arrested on suspicion of rape and assault, with Greater Manchester Police confirming the existence of "social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence."

The one-time England international was subsequently charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, although the charges were later dropped due to the withdrawal of key witnesses and the announcement that "new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."

Greenwood, 22, spent last season on loan at Getafe in LaLiga, scoring eight goals and providing six assists.

Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi, who left Premier League club Brighton after the 2023-24 season, said last week that he would hold no prejudice against Greenwood because of his past.

"Mason is a world-class player, but we have not recruited him yet. I don't know what happened, but I am not used to get involved in my players' private life," he said.

"But if he comes here, you have to know that I treat all my players like my sons. I can tell them off in private, but I would never attack them in public."

The mayor of the French city also weighed in on the transfer last week, referring to the allegations against Greenwood as "unspeakable" and adding that he would ask Marseille president Pablo Longoria to not sign the player.

Marseille begin their 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign against Brest on the weekend of Aug. 17/18.