Manchester United are reportedly leading the race to trump Arsenal in the race to sign RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
The Red Devils currently have Lisandro Martínez and Ayden Heaven as the left-footed centre-back options. However, the Argentinian has struggled with fitness problems in recent years, while Heaven has found himself on the periphery since Michael Carrick’s arrival as the interim manager.
The Englishman is still very young and has shown glimpses of his high potential. But Carrick has mainly used Harry Maguire in the LCB role amid Martínez’s absence in recent weeks.
The former Leicester City star entered the final few months of his contract, but United have decided to keep hold of him by handing him a fresh short-term deal.
Now, Fichajes state that Man Utd have made signing a new left-footed centre-back an ‘absolute priority’ to bring better balance to their defence and have identified Lukeba as a serious option.
Arsenal are also interested in the 23-year-old and have been monitoring his development closely before making a potential swoop. However, Man Utd are the favourites to trump Mikel Arteta’s side in this race.
Bayern Munich also expressed their interest in Lukeba, but they don’t want to finalise the operation by matching Leipzig’s asking price.
Battle
Leipzig need to balance the books by selling one star at least this summer and are prepared to let Lukeba leave. He has a £70m release clause in his current contract, which is set to run until 2029.
However, they are prepared to accept a discount price of around £50m and United are putting together a formal proposal to seal the deal.
Lukeba is comfortable playing out from the back and is efficient in defensive contributions. He is a talented player and possesses the potential to reach the top.
However, the 23-year-old has had fitness problems in recent years, and Man Utd or Arsenal need to be careful about that before signing him.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see whether the Old Trafford club or the North London club eventually make a concrete approach to secure his services during the offseason.
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