Which Reds helped Leny settle in?

The centre-back landed in Manchester back in the summer of 2024, from Ligue 1 club Lille, and despite his relative youth, boasted 60 senior appearances for the French side.

Les Dogues are no small matter; a huge club with strong pedigree across the English Channel, but one of the first things that struck the then-teenager was the difference in attention he received from the minute he was linked with the Reds.

"This is crazy," he admitted, on the latest episode of our official podcast, Inside Carrington. "Like everywhere you go in the world, people will know you.

"When I was like 18, playing for Lille – Lille have good fans, but not all over the world.

"And when this [increase in attention] happened at the beginning, you're a bit shocked, you know, because that's crazy."

Such a huge step in a young career cannot be taken alone. Leny came to England with the help of both his girlfriend and his cousin, but soon found support here in Manchester through his new team-mates.

The 20-year-old mentioned French speakers Hannibal [Mejbri] and Amad as crucial in those early days, but highlighted his friendship with Kobbie Mainoo as crucial to settling in.

"When I arrived, of course Kobbie, I spent a lot of time with him, even outside the training camp," the Frenchman revealed.

"I think it is important to have this [friendship]. We are the same age so, straight away, we had a good relation.

"I think it's important for you, for the mood and stuff, but we have a lot of young players also, so we have a good group for this."

Mainoo hails from nearby Stockport, so knows Manchester and the surrounding areas well, something which assisted Leny greatly, when he first signed.

"He helped me a lot with this because I didn't have a lot of addresses to go to," the defender admitted. "I asked him and he helped me with that.

"This is a prototype of someone, especially from here, to help you to settle."