Liverpool have been heavily linked with Lille defender Leny Yoro in recent weeks, but what could actually happen if the Frenchman moved to the Reds?

The Arne Slot era has begun at Anfield, with the new Liverpool manager likely to start making additions to his squad following Euro 2024. With Joel Matip having departed the club and Virgil van Dijk's future uncertain with just 12 months left on his contract, a new centre-back could be a target for the Reds this summer.

Liverpool are interested in Lille defender Yoro, but as we've seen so often over the last few years, Real Madrid seems to be the preferred destination over the Reds for the 18-year-old. According to The Athletic, Yoro has informed the Spanish champions that he wants to join, but nothing has been agreed yet, with Lille holding out for around €60m (£50.6m).

So, if Liverpool were to cough up the money and sign Yoro, how could the defender fare at Anfield? We simulated the upcoming season with the teenager in Slot's side to find out.

We 'signed' Leny Yoro for Liverpool

To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to arrange for Yoro to sign for Liverpool in the 2024 summer transfer window. We then simulated the 2024/25 season to see what sort of impact he could have.

Just 18 years old, Yoro wasn't thrown straight into the starting XI under Slot, with the defender behind Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in the pecking order. Halfway through the season, Yoro started to become a regular in the squad, eventually pushing Slot into sending Jarell Quansah on a six-month loan to Leicester City in the January transfer window.

In his first season, Yoro made 32 appearances across all competitions, with 24 of those starts. But, the most impressive stat was his average rating per 90 minutes, with the Frenchman averaging a higher rating (7.28) than Van Dijk (7.17), Konate (7.12), and Joe Gomez (7.03).

At the end of the 2024/25 season, Football Manager 24 put together an overall best Liverpool XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:

Full Liverpool best XI: (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jota, Nunez.

Despite his impressive performances, Yoro didn't make the Liverpool best XI, with Van Dijk and Konate the chosen partnership in defence. Ryan Gravenberch was given Slot's trust in the simulation, and the midfielder thrived as he made the best XI. Diogo Jota started up front, while Darwin Nunez was deployed on the left, ahead of both Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo.

Liverpool were involved in a race for the Premier League title during the first half of the season, but after a few losses, the Reds dropped off as Man City dominated. At the end of the season, City won the league with a whopping 97 points, but it was still an impressive debut season for Slot who finished second in the table.

28 wins, two draws, and eight losses saw the Reds finish on 86 points, 11 fewer than Man City but eight more than Manchester United in third. It wasn't a trophyless season for Liverpool though, with Slot's side winning two trophies in the simulation.

The first trophy won was the Carabao Cup, with the Reds battering Wolves 5-0 in the final in one of their best displays of the season. A 2-1 win over Arsenal in the final saw Liverpool win the FA Cup, but their Champions League campaign concluded in the quarter-finals following a 4-3 aggregate loss to Man City.