Manchester United are about to unleash the star player Real Madrid wanted to sign

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It was a big deal when Manchester United signed Leny Yoro in a deal worth €70million but he's almost been forgotten about.

Yoro fractured his metatarsal in the first half of the defeat to Arsenal in Los Angeles, which was the opening fixture of United's pre-season tour in the United States.

He has been absent since but recently returned to training at Carrington and there is a possibility he will make his highly anticipated debut for the club against Ipswich Town.

There was huge excitement among fans when Yoro signed and it will be great to see him finally on a pitch in a United shirt. He built a reputation as one of Europe's finest defensive prospects during his time with Lille and it says a lot when Real Madrid show an interest in signing you.

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When Yoro signed for United, there were comparisons made between him and Varane, who was also 18 years old when he joined Madrid from RC Lens in 2011. Back then, Varane was regarded as one of the most promising young French defenders and Yoro has that status in 2024.

Varane enjoyed the best years of his career at the Bernbeau and moved to Manchester in the autumn of his career, so it was refreshing to see United sign a talent on the rise instead.

Yoro will be delighted if he achieves half of what Varane did during his outstanding career and will be determined to reach a similar level. The 19-year-old made 44 appearances last season and could go straight into Ruben Amorim's starting team when he's given the green light to feature.

Although Yoro's injury was a blow, club sources viewed his lay-off as an opportunity for him to settle into life in Manchester and familiarise himself with his new surroundings, which was an approach that Sir Alex Ferguson would take with new signings who picked up injuries.

United have looked to seek positives from Yoro's unfortunate injury situation and he should benefit from the having the chance to settle in the weeks ahead, which should be fascinating.

Yoro felt like the first proper Ineos signing, he wasn't cheap and hasn't been signed to start each game on the bench. He is young and will need time to adapt to the Premier League, but has obvious claims to start against Ipswich in the back-three that Amorim will select at the back.

Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were the preferred first choice partnership for Erik ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy but another centre-back will start in Amorim's system.

Yoro has all the qualities to excel in a back-three - he is pacy, reads the game superbly and has a dynamic range of passing - and fans are desperate to see him start in a competitive fixture.

The Frenchman made a confident start to his time at the club when he made his first appearance of pre-season against Rangers and some joked he was a future Ballon d'Or winner.

Yoro is clearly an exceptional prospect, but his age should be kept in mind and he will inevitably make a mistake when he begins to start regularly. It's a right of passage for a new United signing to drop a clanger in a game and Yoro should be afforded patience by football pundits.

There will be good days and some bad days ahead for Yoro, although United believe he can become one of the finest defenders in the world and it's difficult for fans not to get excited.

Without stating the obvious, Yoro needs to make his debut and get into a rhythm before anything else and Ipswich seems the perfect place for his career at Old Trafford to finally begin.

There is no reason to ease Yoro into action if he's passed enough to play. He should be allowed to sink or swim.

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