Red Devils

An agreement between the clubs on an initial €62million (£52m; $67.9m) fee was reached last week — however Yoro still needed to accept the switch.

His original preference was to join Real Madrid but they have so far shown no indication of paying the price that United and Lille settled on.

That led the Ligue 1 side to strongly favour a deal with United for Yoro, who they would rather sell this summer than risk losing him as a free agent when his existing contract expires in June 2025.

The 18-year-old France youth international has warmed to the idea of moving to Old Trafford and the latest developments are a major step forward in the situation, but there is still work to be done.

If all goes to plan, United will secure their primary target to bolster in defence and a player regarded across the game as being a generational talent.

The Premier League team maintain their admiration for options such as Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, although a further arrival is likely to depend on departures to create finance and squad space.

Other interested parties including Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool have been pursuing Yoro’s services, though his initial choice of Real Madrid appeared to have made this a one-horse race.

Regardless, United persisted and while the door has remained ajar they applied intensive efforts to lure him to the north west of England. Barring a late and unexpected turn of events, that mission is now close to coming to fruition.