Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has advised his younger teammate Leny Yoro to prioritise the mental side of his game to fully unlock his remarkable potential.
Like De Ligt, Yoro also joined United in the summer. He arrived at Old Trafford from Ligue 1 outfit LOSC Lille.
However, his start to life at United was hindered after he picked up an injury in pre-season that required surgery. Yoro recently returned to action, making his competitive debut in the Premier League defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.
Yoro has shown very promising signs of the player he can develop into. During the Carabao Cup loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, he performed well despite the team conceding four goals.
De Ligt, who has already partnered Yoro in Ruben Amorim’s three-man defence, spoke to club media and insisted that the Frenchman has all the tools necessary to become a top-level player.
“I think he’s a really great talent,” De Ligt said. “He has a lot of the tools to become a really good modern defender. He’s fast, good with the ball, quick, tall, good in headers.”
“He’s now back from injury and I think it’s really important for the team to get lots of options because the schedule is hectic, so we have to use everybody. It’s really nice that he’s here and hopefully I can help him with some experience that I had at his age, because I also had this experience at this age.”
“I really want to help him become as good as possible, because I think he has a lot of potential.”
When asked what advice he has been giving to Yoro, De Ligt replied, “He has all the tools to become an amazing defender, [so] I think it’s mental.”
“What I would give to him as advice is to always stay close to himself and to try to learn. That’s really important for a young player. You can’t be so focused on winning that you’re not improving as a player anymore.”
De Ligt added, “I think with this trainer [Ruben Amorim], he gives a lot of attention to that. He gives young guys chances, but also sometimes pushes them a little bit back to let them improve in training.”
“I think he’s in a really good place with a really good staff to improve in the best way.”
United return to action on Sunday when they host Bournemouth at Old Trafford. Kick-off is at 14:00 GMT.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
