The 20 year old center back is coming off a great sophomore season for Lyon, but it may almost be time for him to make a move. Lukeba has a unique style of play that will leave him perfectly equipped for a successful career. It’s hard to keep your eyes off him, but there are plenty of clubs that could use a center back like him.
Lukeba's History & Origin
Castello Lukeba (Born December 17, 2002) is a French International who is enjoying a blossoming career. He joined Lyon’s youth Academy, and made his way through the ranks until he was promoted to the first team in 2021. He has already played two full seasons in Ligue 1, along with a season of the Europa league. Most recently, he enjoyed a good run in the U21 Euros with France. Currently, he is valued at around $27m, and there are several teams interested in his services.
Lukeba's Style of Play
Castello Lukeba stands at 6’0 (1.84) which makes him the average mold for a modern day center back. Last season, he played 34 games for Lyon, and he was able to lock down his left center back role. Lukeba is left footed, and is very comfortable using his feet which is why so many teams are interested in him. He has a great talent in possession, and out of it.
How is Lukeba when he doesn't have possession?
When the time comes for Lukeba to do his primary job, he varies in his abilities. He has tremendous ability to read his opponents passes, with 2.3 interceptions a game, but his actual tackling ability is subpar…. or is it.
When you take a closer look at the stats, he only challenges a tackle .65 times a game. Therefore, whenever he does decide to tackle someone he wins it 67% of the time which puts him in fairly good company.
The biggest complaint to have is why he isn’t tackling as much, which may just be a tactical/personal preference.
Lukeba's style of play in possession
This is the style of play which has been making Lukeba the topic of so many transfers recently. Just like other young CB’s such as Tapsoba, Lukeba is solid in defense, and even better in possession.
The glaring strength is his ability to carry the ball up field for his team with positive intent. A “Carry” is whenever he controls the ball, so he is getting involved more than most center backs in the world! Even further, he is carrying it all over, and more than half is UP FIELD!!
It cannot be stressed how good of a sign it is when your defensive players have the progressive mindset already instilled.
Finally, it can’t hurt to mention he passes with around 90% accuracy which is top 10% in the world. Extremely positive play from the young defender.
What conclusion can we make on Lukeba?
Overall, it’s quite simple to tell that Lukeba is going to be a defender that we see on the big stage very soon. He has extremely positive traits that teams such as Manchester City, Liverpool, and others would love to have.
It seems that RB Leizpig are currently leading the pack in getting his signature for next season. We can only presume it would be to replace their Gvardiol.
Thank’s for reading, and be sure to check out more of our stories!
