Young French talent Castello Lukeba is one of the most in demand up and coming centre backs in the world with the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all said to be in the race to acquire his signature. Even with a £75 million release clause embedded into his current RB Leipzig contract, these clubs will likely be willing to pay that and more to bring such a player in the doors.

Why Would These Clubs Be Interested In Lukeba?

🚨 Real Madrid are set to enter the race for RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, who is also of interest to Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

(Source: Mirror) pic.twitter.com/30FhvxpOyJ

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) February 23, 2025

Real Madrid have suffered over the last couple of season with multiple injuries to their centre backs. Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba have all had lengthy times out with Alaba tearing his ACL last year and Militão suffering the very same injury the last two seasons running. Real Madrid have found joy in Raúl Asencio, brought in from the youth academy, a breath of fresh air from the ageing back line. With the ages of the defence, now is the perfect time for Real Madrid to bring in Lukeba, letting him form a partnership with Asencio that could last a very long time as both are only 22 years of age.

The problem for Real Madrid is that those interested in Lukeba are dealing with the same issue. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is out of contract in the summer and it has still not been revealed whether or not is will still be Merseyside bound for next season. Liverpool will need a replacement as Jarrell Quansah is too young and unfortunately Joe Gomez is way to injury prone.

Van Dijk: “When there is a definite answer on my future, it will probably be out”…*smiles* [@SkySports] pic.twitter.com/qNmmXkx7jF

— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) February 22, 2025

Chelsea are stuck in a similar situation to Madrid as their backline have also faced a lot of injury problems with Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile currently sidelined with hamstring problems in fact. Trevor Chalobah was forced to be recalled from his loan spell with Crystal Palace due to their centre back shortage so investing in Lukeba would be a smart move for The Blues.

It would be wise for Manchester United to get involved as well. Johnny Evans is still getting minutes even at the age of 37. Victor Lindelöf’s contract expires in the summer and it is looking unlikely the Swede will resign, getting to the right time to move on. Lisandro Martínez has obviously missed the rest of this season but it is seems like he won’t return to full fitness until at least January 2026. That leaves Harry Maguire whose had his share of criticism, Matthias de Ligt and Leny Yoro. Adding another young star with de Ligt and Yoro is the intelligent thing to do in planning for the future.

🚨 Manchester United chiefs are growing increasingly concerned over the long-term fitness of Lisandro Martinez, sparking fears that a replacement may be needed.

(Source: Sunday Express) pic.twitter.com/Nz0X9D9vL6

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) February 16, 2025

How Good Has Lukeba Actually Been?

Castello Lukeba has produced some great displays this season, playing in 12 Bundesliga games this season and helping his team to keep a clean sheet in eight of them. It isn’t only his natural defensive and physical quality that have helped him standout to some of the biggest clubs in the world, but his distribution of the ball has been immense. Over the course of this season in the Bundesliga, Lukeba has averaged 73.14 passes per 90 minutes at an 87.2% completion rate. Those numbers are lower than usual however as the Frenchman has actually missed 10 games through small injuries to his hamstring. His toughness to get past has been evident this campaign, successfully defending a take-on 0.70 times a match.

🇫🇷💎| Castello Lukeba (RB Leipzig, 22)
vs Bundesliga U24 Centre-backs, per 90

🥇Defensive duels won % – 1st
🥇Touches – 1st
🥇Passes – 1st
🥇Passes completed – 1st
🥇Forward passes completed – 1st
🥇Short passes completed – 1st
🥇Prog. passes completed – 1st pic.twitter.com/AHhJ8GLh98

— w/scout (@widescouting) February 21, 2025

With RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League this season, Lukeba’s numbers have taken a rise in the competition. His completed pass percentage increases slightly as well as the numbers for progressive passes, going from 3.79 in the Bundesliga to 4.51 in the UEFA Champions League. He is in the top 93 percentile of all the defenders in the competition for progressive carries, averaging 1.66 per 90 minutes.

That improvement between competitions is something the top teams will be sniffing around for him. Finding someone whose game elevates on the big stage can be a massive help in making it through the stages. Depending on which club pulls the trigger on a deal for him potentially see themselves with a European trophy come the end of next season. Lukeba will be able to improve a back line that much as his stats prove.

What’s Next For Lukeba?

🔴⚪️🔐 RB Leipzig confirm Castello Lukeba signs new deal until June 2029.

French defender’s salary has also been increased as top clubs keep following him for summer 2025. pic.twitter.com/Lc4zpMfa3k

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 23, 2024

Lukeba will essentially have the luxury of choosing what he wants to do this summer. He is still under contract with RB Leipzig and will be until 2029. He doesn’t have to leave Germany if he doesn’t want to and even if a team bit the bullet and triggered his £75 million release clause, he still gets final say on whether or not he goes.

However, the names in for the Lukeba are too good to turn down. Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are some of the biggest names in footballing history and the notoriety that comes with playing for such a huge club would be an honour, especially at the age of 22 with the opportunity to remain at his new destination for a good couple of years.

At the end of the day only Castello Lukeba will know what to do when the time comes but good luck for those in the hunt and congratulations to the team that gets him because they’ll have a potentially world class centre back on their hands.