Leny Yoro is only 20 and Ayden Heaven just 19. It remains mind-blowing that the pair still stand at the very dawn of their careers, especially when it already feels as if they have been around for some time.
Yoro
In the summer of 2024, INEOS went all out to sign Yoro. The young French defender was expected to join Real Madrid, but INEOS managed to hijack the deal and secure his services for £52 million.
Calm, intelligent and composed on the ball, Yoro is a central defender who relies on his reading of the game and positional awareness to make key interceptions rather than rash challenges.
The Red Devils must feel they captured their future right-sided centre-back.
Ayden Heaven
Months after the Yoro signing, INEOS pounced on an opportunistic deal for Heaven.
United took a calculated gamble and paid around £1.5 million to bring the Arsenal youngster to Manchester.
Over 18 months later, that move has turned into a transfer masterstroke. Heaven has proved a massive hit and has steadily staked a strong claim for United’s left-sided centre-back role.
A press-resistant, ball-carrying centre-back who draws on his midfield background to control tempo and break the opponent’s lines, Heaven has been a revelation in United’s central defence.
Dream partnership
Some time ago, a report suggested that club insiders thought the two could one day form one of the most formidable centre-back partnerships.
It was suggested that once they click, they could even prove better than the William Saliba and Gabriel partnership that has dominated conversations around the league in recent seasons.
As we wait for the pieces to fall into place, Harry Maguire, speaking to Sky Sports’ Danyal Khan, has now also hinted at why the Yoro-Heaven partnership is one worth looking forward to.
What Maguire had to say
Speaking about the pair, along with academy defensive gem Dan Armer, Maguire said:
“I want them to have great careers.
Hopefully in five or six years’ time, Leny, Ayden and Dan are fighting it out and playing together in this team. That’s what we all want.
“They have the attributes, and they have the qualities that they can do that.
“When you’re at this club, people sometimes forget ages.
“They (Yoro and Heaven) are young, but they’re learning the game under the biggest scrutiny and analysis that anyone can imagine.
“Like I said, hopefully one day they’re the main two centre-half partnership at this club and they’re winning the biggest trophies. Hopefully they’re the strongest partnership in world football.
That’s what they’ve got to aim to do.”
Bright future ahead
United’s defence looks to be in safe hands given the talent coming through.
If Yoro and Heaven continue to find their feet, the prospect is genuinely exciting.
Yoro is a calm, tactical reader of the game, while Heaven plays with aggressive front-foot assertiveness and attacking drive. The two should complement each other perfectly and lay the foundation for United’s defensive dominance over the next decade.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
