Castello Lukeba: The Chelsea target who’s the perfect LB/LCB hybrid for the modern game

Castello Lukeba is an example of an increasingly valuable profile in modern football; a CB/FB hybrid. One of the most defensively solid ones at that. With this profile growing in popularity, it’s Chelsea who are looking at him to upgrade their defensive options.

The French defender came through Lyon’s academy and it’s his birth-city. During his time at Lyon, ever since he broke into the first team he was an impressive figure in defence and managed to make 68 appearances, even getting four goals in the process playing almost exclusively at centre-back.

Lukeba’s consistency for Lyon made him a key player for them amongst many other academy graduates scattered around the first team including the likes of Rayan Cherki, Bradley Barcola, Maxence Caqueret, Sael Kumbedi, Malo Gusto, Johann Lepenant, Mamadou Sarr and Houssem Aouar as all the main prospects. On top of that there was also Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso who had returned to the club they were produced at after several years away.

But in the summer Lukeba would make a move across Europe to Germany as RB Leipzig signed him in a €30m deal to replace Josko Gvardiol who went to Manchester City for €90m. For such a relatively lower fee, there’s no doubt that Leipzig could make another huge profit when Lukeba is inevitably sold to one of Europe’s top teams.

Lukeba reads the game so well. Defensively he has that style like Nathan Ake in 1v1s where he blocks off all angles positioning himself side on and judges his time to engage in tackles well. Lukeba has really powerful legs and when he lunges to make a tackle, there’s often only one outcome.

Tackling is probably his greatest strength and he’s the type of defender you want to put in lots of 1v1 scenarios as it’s where he shines. Despite playing as a LCB in a back four defence at Lyon, just like Ake, he could transition to LB seamlessly.

Moreover, his tackling prowess isn’t solely about his standing lunges, it’s also the quality of his slide tackles and the timing of when to go to ground. Although Lukeba is so aggressive in winning the ball back, he’s excellent and timing his aggression well, knowing when to engage and when to delay.

It’s a skill common in elite defenders that’s hard to teach and usually comes in very experienced older defenders. The discipline to stay on your feet in dangerous scenarios to avoid giving away a penalty but still being aggressive in closing off angles is what Lukeba excels at.

With so many tricky, pacy wingers in today’s game, it’s important to have solid 1v1 defenders. Top teams could come up against the likes of Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka, Rodrygo, Phil Foden, Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal etc. down the right wing and need someone who can counter this at LB/LCB. This is where Lukeba comes in.

In addition to this, a big part about what makes Lukeba so good defensively is his athleticism and physicality in every sense of the word. Physically he’s so strong with top core strength that shines in ground duels, but on top of that he’s very quick for a defender which enables him to catch quicker attackers.

Speed in centre-backs or full-backs is so important in the modern game as so many teams love to play with a high line in possession to help dominate the ball. The high line leaves teams exposed to counter attacks so being able to read passes in behind, make quality last man tackles and in addition to be quick off the mark and have good top end recovery speed is crucial. Without this, teams are vulnerable to the ball in behind the defence if the opposition has a faster attacker.

Lukeba is a real athlete. The explosiveness in his legs enables him to leap so high making him strong in both boxes despite being only 6’0”. This jumping ability is what’s made him able to score the goals he did for Lyon and continually be a threat from set-pieces at RB Leipzig.

A huge strength in Lukeba’s profile is his ball-playing ability. The Leipzig defender is so secure on the ball and is able to retain possession and help build up from the back. With a 91.7% pass accuracy this season, Lukeba executes his passes well and has good pass selection. From deep he can pass through the lines well but also loves to carry the ball up the pitch from defence and even take on players. In fact he ranks in the top 7% for all centre-backs in the top five leagues for take-ons attempted (1.28 per 90 minutes) and successful take-ons (0.69 per 90 minutes).

This ability to bring the ball out of the defence is key in teams being able to break down mid-blocks as it draws players out of position and allows the dribbler to then pass through the lines into the new space created.

At Leipzig, Lukeba has played at centre-back on either side and also at left-back occasionally too. Due to being a smaller centre-back, at a top team they may opt to deploy him at LB rather than CB but his development at CB now will only help him become more well-rounded here.

Chelsea interested in signing Lukeba

As TEAMtalk has confirmed, Chelsea are one of the teams looking at Lukeba for the future and it’s a signing that would fit in with the profiles of their squad. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has played so many different players at LB this season. Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella and Levi Colwill have rotated there but often when all were available at the beginning of the season Chelsea played Colwill at LB.

Colwill is naturally a CB and played LCB all season in 2022/23 for Brighton where he hugely impressed. But Pochettino is one of many managers who’s looked to play a LCB at LB this season. In possession it allows the LB to form a back three whilst the right-back pushes into midfield or joins the attack.

Lukeba would allow Pochettino to use an even better option here who’s a much better 1v1 defender than what they have whilst still being so secure on the ball. Lukeba is also much better aerially than all the aformentioned options Chelsea have.

A move to Chelsea would also see Lukeba link up in defence with former teammate Malo Gusto. The Lyon academy graduate played RB and LB for Lyon and maybe next season they’ll be playing RB and LB for Chelsea.

There will be competition for Lukeba though as his profile is increasing in demand and because Leipzig paid a decent fee to sign him, he’ll likely cost a lot too.

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