Rumor Mongering: Liverpool Interested in Lille Center Back

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Reportedly, Liverpool are keen to add 18-year old Leny Yoro.

We are only one week after the end of the season and with the opening of the Transfer Window a little over two weeks away, the rumor mongers are playing their way into mid-window shape. You can see wild speculation and tenuous links floating all over the internet and, much like the wafting smell of barbecue (if you live in the certain parts of the US), there is no more sure signal of the ushering in of the season than the Daily Mail cranking out rumors like a sweaty sous chef staging in the hopes of landing that coveted big gig.

And so, I am here with a fresh rumor from the Metro that is laundered by the official Liverpool site itself! The reporting is that Liverpool FC are keen to bring in Lille’s 18-year old center-back, Leny Yoro, to Anfield. Relatedly, Manchester United are also reported to be in on Yoro as a potential transfer target.

The premise of the rumor alone isn’t what lands it in the level of rumor mongering. Cult favorite Joel Matip is leaving the club on a free, which does leave space open on the squad for a reliable center-back in the event that Virgil Van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate - the presumed first-choice pairing - are unavailable.

But this feels very much like the type of mongering that tries to create a link merely out of the circumstances lining up. With no reliable sources in the article and given that the rumor itself is not reported out by any of the reputable Liverpool reporters, we can’t help but feel like this one is a little bit off the cuff.

It may be that Liverpool are looking for a center-back even with the likes of Jarell Quansah and new holder of the James Milner Memorial Swing Man Award, Joe Gomez, both on the books. And it certainly would stand to reason that a player of Yoro’s age could make sense. But there’s no real tether to anyone at Anfield that might be able to confirm that interest. So, as always, until I’ve heard it from Paul Joyce, I’m gonna remain skeptical.