Castello Lukeba, a defender for RB Leipzig, has reportedly been identified by Liverpool as a potential Ibrahima Konate replacement. Real Madrid is rumored to have expressed interest in the player.
Despite winning the Premier League, the Reds already appear to be making major roster changes with the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid and the transfer of Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield.
A number of other players, including Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, who is viewed as a potential replacement for seasoned Andrew Robertson, are anticipated to be signed by boss Arne Slot.
But they might also lose center-back Konate, who is rumored to be a Real Madrid target and has one year left on his contract.
According to Football Insider, Liverpool may try to sign Lukeba of Leipzig in anticipation of his potential departure. Lukeba may be available after his team’s Champions League failure.
IS LUKEBA A PERFECT REPLACEMENT FOR KONATE?
Virgil van Dijk and Konate have often been paired together in central defense, but Konate has been more active than the Liverpool captain because he was assigned to cover Alexander-Arnold on the right flank.
Frimpong and Conor Bradley will compete for a starting position on the right, but both players will require assistance and are not very good defensively.
The Leipzig team’s second-fastest player, Lukeba, reached a maximum speed of 35.1 km/h in the Champions League in 2024–25, while Konate reached a maximum speed of 34.1 km/h in Europe.
The 22-year-old has mostly played on the left side of the field as a center-back or left-back, but he is a good wide defender and has the speed to play in the backline.
Asking the Frenchman to play on the other side of the field could be dangerous, even though he might end up being a flexible defensive option.
Additionally, it should be mentioned that Konate won 74 aerial duels in the Premier League while Lukeba only won 26 in the Bundesliga. If the Leipzig player moved to Merseyside, the Reds’ aerial prowess would suffer on both an offensive and defensive level.