Aston Villa are planning to strengthen their defence with an ambitious potential transfer move for RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, who is also on the radar of elite clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid. Sources with a close understanding of the situation have informed CaughtOffside that Villa manager Unai Emery strongly appreciates Lukeba’s talents and considers the 21-year-old as an ideal candidate for a transfer in the upcoming January transfer window.
CaughtOffside understands that Aston Villa hope an early offer could fend off interest from other interested clubs including Chelsea, Man City and Real Madrid, while Newcastle are also understood to be among his potential suitors. It won’t be easy for Villa to see off competition from these big names, but they’ve demonstrated ambition in the transfer market, guiding them to Champions League qualification with an impressive fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
One issue for Aston Villa, however, is that Leipzig are fully aware of the kind of talent they have in Lukeba and they value the France international at around £60 million, which could prove to be a significant expense for the club. Chelsea will likely hope this valuation could pertain to their own plans, as they seek to bolster their centre-back options following inconsistent performances from their current squad.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are prioritising a centre-back signing for next summer, with Arsenal’s William Saliba and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero among their targets. However, Lukeba may represent a more realistic addition to their plans. It will be interesting to see if Aston Villa can move early and persuade Lukeba to choose them over other elite clubs, or if the Frenchman will opt to bide his time and consider more options at the end of the season.