‘One to watch’ – Lukeba namechecked as potential target for Liverpool

Four years after signing Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool could viably execute a transfer coup with numerous parallels to that 2021 acquisition.

By the end of August, the Reds’ centre-back ranks could look very different to the end of last season. Jarell Quansah is seemingly on the verge of joining Bayer Leverkusen, while his French teammate is entering the final year of his contract at Anfield, with no imminent sign of a resolution in the next couple of months.

In terms of prospective incomings, as per TEAMtalk, Marc Guehi is reportedly close to agreeing personal terms regarding the possibility of a move to the Premier League champions, who could then proceed to formal negotiations with Crystal Palace.

Lukeba namechecked as ‘one to watch’ for Liverpool

In an update on his eponymous YouTube channel on Friday, Lewis Steele named another centre-back who could potentially be sought by Richard Hughes in the coming weeks.

The Daily Mail journalist outlined: “Castello Lukeba at Leipzig, another young defender, could be one to watch. I think it’s clear that Liverpool have kept an eye on him.

“I’ve been told that Liverpool have had scouts at many RB Leipzig games this season. He could be one as well to watch in terms of Liverpool trying to get the best young defenders on the market.

“They missed out on [Leny] Yoro, missed out on [Dean] Huijsen. Maybe [they sign Jorrel] Hato, maybe Lukeba.”

Could Liverpool replicate Konate signing with swoop for Lukeba?

If LFC were to bring in Lukeba this summer, it’d have strong echoes of the signing of Konate four years ago – could we see another French centre-back leaving RB Leipzig for Anfield in his early 20s?

The 22-year-old made quite the impression on his former boss Marco Rose, who chimed after an outstanding display against Bochum in October 2023 (via Bundesliga.com): “What a player, what a boy!”

The Bundesliga’s official website has praised his ‘reading of the game, timing in the tackle, physicality and ability to distribute the ball from the back’, and his statistics from last season certainly support the latter attribute.

As per FBref, Lukeba ranked among the top 1% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues in 2024/25 for successful take-ons per game (0.97), and he’s also in the top 12% and 20% with his respective 90-minute averages for progressive carries (1.15) and progressive passes (4.56).

While Guehi appears to be Liverpool’s primary centre-back target, it’s apparent from their simultaneous rumoured interest in the RB Leipzig defender – as well as Hato and Nathan Collins – that Hughes is working on plenty of alternatives if the Crystal Palace man proves to be unattainable.

It seems very likely that at least one of our central defensive options from last season will depart this summer, and plausibly two, so we can therefore expect a minimum of one new signing in that part of the squad before the end of August.