Manchester United could have a breakout star this season who might be in line to start against Hull

Leny Yoro has had two seasons at Man Utd without quite displaying the talent everyone knows he has, but that could change this season.

Leny Yoro played in the unfamiliar position of right-back when Manchester United kicked off pre-season with defeat to Wrexham last weekend, but he will be itching for a chance in the centre of defence sooner rather than later this summer.

With no big names back at Carrington this week, Michael Carrick is expected to take a similar squad to Trondheim as the one that faced the Championship outfit in Helsinki last Saturday, which might mean Yoro is again at right-back against Rosenborg.

But these early games are simply about fitness and by being back at Carrington for day one of pre-season, Yoro has already stolen a march on some of his rivals for a spot in the team against Hull City on the first day of the season.

Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven started together at centre-back against Wrexham and could continue there against Rosenborg. Matthijs de Ligt continues to go through his rehabilitation from back surgery at Carrington and won't be fit for the start of the new campaign.

Lisandro Martinez completes what, on paper, looks like a strong defensive unit for Carrick. But Martinez has just suffered World Cup agony and isn't expected to return to pre-season training until a week or so before United's Premier League campaign starts on August 22.

Martinez was named in the team of the tournament at the World Cup but ended it with his shirt covering his face after being forced off with injury. He has now gone on holiday, which suggests it isn't a serious issue, but as of Wednesday, he still didn't know the extent of the problem.

Even if he is fit to begin training in August, he is unlikely to be up to speed in time to start against the newly-promoted Tigers, which leaves a vacancy alongside Maguire at the MKM Stadium.

As a left-footer, Heaven, 19, is similar to Martinez, but Yoro is ahead of the former Arsenal centre-back in his development. When United spent £52million to sign Yoro, then 18, from Lille in the summer of 2024, they probably expected he would be a regular by now.

But he has started only 30 Premier League games across two seasons and has only shown flashes of why he was rated as one of the best young defenders in the world in 2024, with United outbidding Real Madrid to sign him.

"Leny is one of the most exciting young defenders in world football; he possesses every attribute needed to develop into a top-class centre-back," said Dan Ashworth, United's sporting director at the time.

Those attributes are still there, and he can still develop into a "top-class centre-back", but to do that, he needs to force his way into the team. He has been a substitute in the Premier League on 28 occasions since he joined the club.

Yoro turns 21 in November, and with a change in the international set-up as well, with Zinedine Zidane set to replace Didier Deschamps, he will know this is a big season ahead for him. He could end it as a regular in the United team and the French squad.

If he does start against Hull, he will have the chance to lay down a marker. Carrick's success last season was marked by a consistency in selection, to the detriment of players like Yoro who weren't in the strongest XI.

That was Maguire and Martinez at the centre of defence and with everyone available, they are likely to be the preferred pair again. De Ligt will have a point to prove as well when he returns.

But Yoro should be the future of the defence, alongside Heaven. Maguire has told people they can be United's version of Gabriel and William Saliba, who have developed into the Premier League's best defence.

This feels like a key season for Yoro's development, and although he is starting the summer at right-back, he will hope to be at the heart of the defence come the first day of the new season.

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