Leny Yoro: Why Europe's best all want to sign Lille's 'new William Saliba'

They say that defenders only truly grow with experience, and Leny Yoro is about as experienced as he could be at his age. The Lille centre-back made his Ligue 1 debut at just 16 years old, and by 17 had consolidated his place in the first team at the expense of World Cup-winner Samuel Umtiti. He had also become the club's youngest goalscorer for a decade.

And yet, the unanimous feeling in France is that this is just the start for a player who has been tipped to become the most expensive defender in Ligue 1 history. Paris Saint-Germain have already made contact with the player's agent, Samir Khiat, while Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have all been mentioned among the clubs that have taken a shine to the 18-year-old.

Yoro is likely to remain with Lille until the end of the season and continue the remarkable progress he has made over the past couple of seasons, but a feeding frenzy is set to begin in the summer as Europe's elite seek to solve their defensive problems for many years to come by capturing one of the hottest prospects around.

But what makes the teenager so special? Let GOAL explain...