Club now want ‘very good’ Chelsea target to replace £77m player who seems set to join Manchester City

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RB Leipzig now want to sign Chelsea target Castello Lukeba as a replacement for Josko Gvardiol – who seems set to join Manchester City.

That is according to Sky Germany.

So, what are the details involving Castello Lukeba and Chelsea? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, Manchester City have made a €90m (£77m) bid for the Croatia international after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the 2022/23 campaign.

The Citizens have already agreed personal terms with Gvardiol, and a deal looks likely as RB Leipzig begin to search for replacements.

That is where Chelsea could lose out.

Sky Germany believe RB Leipzig want to sign Lukeba from Lyon, and believe a deal for a sum in the region of €30m (£26m) can definitely be struck between the German side and the French outfit.

It comes after But Football Club in France claimed that Chelsea want to sign the Lyon No.4 this summer, who Dejan Lovren called “very good” and actually likened to Gvardiol.

The French news outlet even claimed that the Blues were leading the race for Lukeba’s signature.

Now – however – with RB Leipzig set to receive a huge fee from Manchester City for Gvardiol, that could all change.

Chelsea do not need Lukeba anyway

In our view, Chelsea should not bother trying to fight RB Leipzig for Lukeba – Mauricio Pochettino does not need to sign another central defender.

The Argentine usually lines up with two central defenders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and can currently choose from Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill after Kalidou Koulibaly left for Saudi Arabia.

Therefore – unless Pochettino suddenly loses two or three of those options – we feel Chelsea should focus on bolstering other areas, with the centre-back department in pretty good condition right now.