Contact made as Liverpool ready to bid for €90M-rated Leny Yoro in "advanced" transfer plans

Liverpool are ready to sign a "nice cheque" to sign Lille defender Leny Yoro as the 18-year-old continues to attract the attention of the biggest clubs around Europe.

The young centre-back has played 1,737 minutes for the French outfit this season with his outstanding displays a large part of why Lille have the joint-second-best defensive record in Ligue 1 this season.

Only Nice (9) have conceded fewer goals than Lille (14) and PSG (14) and Yoro's form has caught Liverpool's eye.

According to French news outlet le10sport.com, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have "made contact" with Lille and have held "discussions" over what it would take to sign Yoro.

The Reds are reportedly ready to "sign a nice cheque" to transfer the defender to the Premier League but it will cost around €90 million (£78M) to secure his services.

The 6 foot 3 starlet is under contract with Lille until 2025 so they are under no immediate pressure to sell. That said Lille president Olivier Létang is "aware that it will be difficult to keep his player for very long".

Yoro is being targeted as Jurgen Klopp contends with another injury crisis.

Joel Matip, Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson are all sidelined with serious injuries while Ibrahima Konate missed a few games with a muscle injury.

Liverpool always planned to sign a new centre-back at the end of the season due to Matip's imminent contract expiry (30 June 2024) but with injuries galore, a centre-back could be signed this month.

United and Liverpool are reportedly "advanced" in their plans to sign Yoro while PSG are seriously interested but not as far along in their approach for the Frenchman.