Twelve months ago Manchester United were staring at a 15th-place finish, their worst in 51 years; this time around they closed the campaign third, the turnaround traced almost entirely to Michael Carrick's arrival in the dugout in January, after which the club lost only twice in 17 league outings.
The competitive picture around them has shifted too: Arsenal enter the new season as champions and the benchmark to beat, while three of United's closest rivals go into it under new management, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all appointing fresh head coaches over the summer and Tottenham having turned to Roberto De Zerbi back in late March. Against that backdrop of upheaval elsewhere, United's relative stability under Carrick has left them being talked about as genuine contenders.
Asked whether United could win the title, Yoro echoed Mbeumo's earlier promise of a "big" season. Yoro himself put it plainly: "Yeah, of course. We're Man United so we have to think like that. And I know we have the potential to do it, so we have to do it.
"The mood is really good. We work really hard, and outside the pitch, we have a good vibe, good mood. So the target this season is to win every game, to be honest. For the team to be the best, for myself to do good games every time, to win trophies, and to be at the top."
United's improved form continued at the weekend with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, their third pre-season friendly, with Mbeumo scoring both goals. Yoro started at right-back for the third game running in the continued absence of Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui, who report back for pre-season on Monday following their post-World Cup breaks. United signed Yoro from Lille for £58.7m in July 2024, and injuries and competition for places have limited the 20-year-old to 33 appearances in each of his two seasons at Old Trafford so far.
With Matthijs de Ligt set to miss the start of the season after back surgery and Lisandro Martinez managing a thigh injury sustained in the World Cup final, Carrick has used a right-footed, left-footed centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven in pre-season, pushing Yoro out to right-back in the process. Yoro was quick to stress he still sees himself as a centre-back first and foremost, while acknowledging it is time for him to nail down a regular role.
"I hope I'm not going to be injured this pre-season. That will help me to improve as well, and to be ready for the start of the season. But the team is doing really well. No injuries yet as well. So hopefully we're going to continue like that," he said.
"I know I did a great season but I know I can do much, much better. I know my potential, for sure, and I hope I'm going to have a really good, good season. Obviously, I have no excuses, but I hope I'm not going to be injured this season, and I'll show to everyone what I can do.
"Sometimes people forget I am still only 20, still a lot to learn, so I have a lot to improve. And like I said, I know my potential, I can learn a lot. I can improve a lot. So I hope this season's gonna be a big, big step for me as well."