Liverpool have needed a center-back for quite some time now. Wait, let’s get more specific. It has been a long time since the Reds have had a naturally left-footed central defender at their disposal and they should look to address this in the summer.
It is often disregarded as to how much difference a naturally left-footed defender can add to a team that loves building out of the back as much as Arne Slot’s Liverpool. That said, Virgil van Dijk is impeccable in that role which is why the team hasn’t really felt the pinch.
News – Liverpool knock on the door to sign £41.5million midfielder – Report
However, Liverpool’s depth at center-back is quite concerning. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are natural starters and are as good as they come. However, in terms of backup, the Reds can surely do better than injury prone, Joe Gomez, and inexperienced, Jarell Quansah.
The Reds have lucked out massively so far this season, not facing many injury issues except for a brief while with Ibrahima Konate.
However, come the summer, Liverpool will surely want to sign a player in this position, especially with Virgil van Dijk yet to extend his Anfield contract.
Now, as per Sport Bild, Liverpool want to sign 22-year-old defender Castello Lukeba who plays for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
The Frenchman has been highly regarded as a promising talent for some time now and it is only a matter of time before he earns a big move. The player is said to have a release clause of around £75million in his contract.
The report adds that Manchester United are also interested in signing the central defender in the aftermath of Lisandro Martinez’s injury, which is expected to keep him out of football for the better part of 2025. Real Madrid also made an attempt to sign him last summer but decided against triggering his release clause, which is quite lofty.
So far this season, the one-cap French international has featured 18 times across all competitions for Leipzig. He has been out injured for around 14 games inbetween Nov 1, 2024 and Jan 26, 2025 and is now building his way back to full fitness.
Promising option?
Any good statistician worth his salt will always tell you that stats don’t tell you the full story but they tell you the direction that you are heading in. There is a lot of promise in Liverpool signing Castello Lukeba but there is concern too.
One major concern with Lukeba, as the numbers suggest is his incredibly poor Aerial % numbers. Not the tallest central defender going around at 184 cms, this could be one major reason why Liverpool might be forced to look elsewhere, especially if they wanted to sign a replacement for Van Dijk.
The asking price is yet another factor that adds an asterisk to Liverpool signing the youngster. Surely, they shouldn’t be triggering his release clause but if Leipzig are willing to negotiate, a deal is here to be had and the Reds should be all over it.
The last time Liverpool signed a center-back from RB Leipzig, it turned out to be Ibrahima Konate, who is one of the very best in the Premier League at the moment.
Who knows, maybe the global head of the Red Bull group, who happens to know Anfield very well, could tell Lukeba just show amazing it is to play in Merseyside and let’s wait and see if the club ends up signing him in the upcoming summer.
