Richard Hughes' Olympic comments could point Liverpool towards centre-back signing


When Richard Hughes spoke at a press conference with Arne Slot, Liverpool fans were surprised when he namedropped the Olympics as a competition they had their eye on.
After all, while it would feature no Liverpool players, his focus as director of football is to analyse the best possible options that can help improve Slot’s squad - and there’s certainly a whole host of brilliant talent on show in Paris.
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Hide AdOne report claimed Liverpool were eyeing up 19-year-old left-back Julio Soler, but reporter Ian Doyle was quick to say the talented Argentinian wasn’t an immediate target. Still, there have clearly been eyes on the competition and one player who has played a key role in the run to the final is France’s Castello Lukeba.
The 21-year-old RB Leipzig defender has been touted as a future star and while he may not be on the move this summer - he could be a potential signing in the future. After all, Liverpool have a strong relationship with the German club after multiple deals and they could repeat the same trick they managed with Ibrahima Konate with Lukeba. Their current centre-back options look strong with five senior defenders but we know Virgil van Dijk is in the final year of his deal and a replacement will have to be sought eventually.
What speaks volumes about the left-sided centre-back is the fact he was brought in to replace Josko Gvardiol who has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining Manchester City. The Leipzig machine continues to churn out potential stars and he is in the mould of what Liverpool have been searching for as we’ve seen links to the likes of Levi Colwill, Goncalo Inacio, Piero Hincapie and other left-sided defenders across recent windows.
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One of his most impressive statistics is that he was rarely dribbled past all season in the Bundesliga, totalling a per90 figure of 0.1 - the same as Van Dijk. He was exceptional on the ball ranking in the 97th percentile for take-ons and take-ons attempted as well as the 88th for recoveries and the 94th for challenges lost. In terms of his release clause which is set to be available next summer, Sky Germany have reported that it will be a £77m figure. If Liverpool are to make a ‘big’ centre-back signing within the next year, it would make sense to wait for the young Frenchman who is clearly a fantastic talent that can enhance the team for years to come.
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