Leny Yoro: Man Utd’s ‘no bad energy’ policy, ‘tough’ last season – and that Homer Simpson dance

Leny Yoro had a hand in the origins of the Manchester United dressing room’s new favourite goal celebration — performed by Bryan Mbeumo and Amad after the third goal in the 4-2 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion — even though, up to this point, he has only been able to appreciate it from afar.

“It was during the week of the game,” the 19-year-old French centre-back says. “Bryan saw a video on the internet and he started doing it, Amad joined in and I joined him after.” For the uninitiated, it is a dance that involves clenching two fists in front of your face, bowing your head, then gyrating your hips.

The trio agreed to perform it if they scored that weekend, Yoro says. “But I was too far (away) in defence, so they did it without me.”

He took his team-mates to task on Instagram afterwards, only for Amad to slap him down, replying: “The coach wants you to stay behind to defend”.

What video is it from? “I think it’s Homer Simpson doing this,” he says, laughing as he bashfully breaks into his own version of the routine. “It’s crazy, but I can’t remember. We need to ask Mbeumo for this. It’s funny.”

It is indeed inspired by a Homer Simpson gif, Mbeumo has since confirmed to the club’s official channels, and we may not have seen the last of it yet.

Though only a small glimpse at the dynamics within this United squad, it is one of several vignettes from this season which suggest the United dressing room is a little less burdened and perhaps a little more closely-knit than it has sometimes been in the past.

Yoro is still a relative newcomer after signing from Lille last year for a maximum €70million ($81m; £62m at current exchange rates) valuation, including add-ons. But he often seems to be involved in such stories — whether that be his Stateside holiday-slash-boot camp with Kobbie Mainoo this summer, or the Frenchman being forced to wear a gold, sequin jacket to United’s Carrington training ground as punishment for losing a game of crossbar challenge.

A photo of the teenager wearing the jacket, complete with sullen middle finger to the camera, was released into the world last week by Luke Shaw — another player who Yoro says he is close to, despite the 30-year-old left-back’s seniority.

Leny Yoro says the Manchester United dressing room is ‘just one group of friends’Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

“The thing that’s good is that there is no group of friends in the team. This is just one group of friends,” he says. “This is the best for the team, I think, to not have any drama or something like this.”

Yoro’s sentiments echo those of Jason Wilcox. United’s director of football remarked this week how the players’ car park at Carrington begins filling up long before Ruben Amorim’s squad are due to clock in nowadays, and said the club’s recruitment department is prioritising “clean-living professionals”.

Yoro recognises that shift in emphasis. “Like you said, the character is really important, for the atmosphere of the team also,” he says. “I think the club is doing well with this, to take only people that can bring good things in the team. We don’t want any bad things in the team. It’s really important for us.

“Try to be focused on the team. Don’t do any drama. Just speak with everyone, have a good relation. This is the best, I think, for the team. We cannot build something with bad energy or bad atmosphere or bad characters.”

Yoro is still young, but is more comfortable than many his age would be when sitting down with a group of journalists at Carrington to talk, in his second language, about his less-than-ideal first year in Manchester.

First, from an individual perspective, there was the fractured metatarsal that delayed Yoro’s competitive debut until last December. Then came United’s 15th-place finish and failure to qualify for Europe.

In August, on the club’s pre-season tour, Yoro said the coming campaign would be “like a revenge” for last season. If any team has a target on their back, it is surely Saturday’s opponents, Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite finishing even further down the Premier League table under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs came out on top in all four meetings between the sides last term, most significantly on that all-or-nothing Europa League final in Bilbao. “I think this game can be a good game for us to prove that maybe the final can have another result,” Yoro says.

The French centre-back after the Europa League final lossNicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images

Perhaps sensibly, he is not ready to claim United are a better side now than the one that lost in Bilbao, despite the on and off-the-pitch impact of signings such as Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

The biggest contrast, in his opinion, is a psychological one. “We’re the same team,” Yoro says, “but with a different spirit sometimes.”

His head coach, for example, is known to wear his heart on his sleeve, and this occasionally spilled out in the form of strikingly candid post-match comments and notions of quitting. But Amorim was far from the only one affected.

“I think everyone knows last season was a really emotional season, I’m going to say. Not even for the coach, for everyone,” Yoro explains. “It was tough, honestly. It was tough for us to sometimes face the games, face training. So everyone was emotional, to be honest.

“I think this year is different. Like you say, we didn’t have the Champions League, but if you can take the good way of this, we have more time to train, we have more freedom in our head.

“Every footballer knows when you win on the day, you have a really perfect week after. It’s more about the result in the head. It’s not as emotional as last year.”

The level of pressure ebbs and flows but never subsides entirely. After United opened the campaign with two wins in seven games, including the Carabao Cup embarrassment at Grimsby Town, Amorim’s insistence on playing a 3-4-3 formation has been questioned.

It demands much of the three centre-backs, including regular jumps into midfield to join the press and cover gaps. After the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes cited a miscommunication between himself and Yoro on when to jump as the root cause for Phil Foden’s opening goal.

“I have no problem with the system. I’ve said a couple of times, I like to play with three defenders, have more freedom. It’s not about the system,” he stresses.

“Last year, people were saying this because of the results, but you can see this year it’s better than last year, but we have the same system. We just need to work on small things. For me, I have no preference. I can play both, and if I’m on the pitch, I’m happy.”

Similarly, Yoro says Amorim’s habit of replacing one of his centre-backs is not an issue, despite him changing at least one of the three in all of United’s 11 games so far this season.

“I know if I’m coming off and Nous (Mazraoui) is coming on, like in the last game (against Nottingham Forest), he’s going to give something more to the team,” says Yoro. “This is something we get used to.”

Defensive substitutions are ‘something we get used to’, says Leny YoroCatherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

Amorim explains such changes to the affected players. “I cannot tell you everything he’s saying to us,” Yoro adds. “We had some conversations about this, but this is not a problem for us. Like I said, if I’m on the pitch, I’m happy. If someone subs me, we can add something to the team.”

Yet the consensus is that after years of trailing him as a youngster at Lille, and having arrived as one of the most highly-rated and sought-after centre-halves in Europe, Yoro will sooner or later be a mainstay of United’s defence.

He had his pick of clubs during the summer of 2024 — “not just (Real) Madrid or United,” he says — but United were his choice.

Others have since questioned why. He hasn’t. “I’ve said a couple of times, even with last season, I never had this feeling of regret or something like this,” he insists.

“I know Manchester United. I know sometimes you can have a bad season, but this club is a top club, so you cannot have doubts about this. I know the project of the club also before I came.

“Today my choice is Manchester, so I’m really happy with this. I know some people talked about this last year because of the results. I can understand them, but honestly, it’s my choice, my career,” he adds, defiantly.