Manchester United are regularly scouting RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba after missing out on his signature last summer, according to Bild.
The Red Devils were credited with an interest in the French centre-back last summer but he ended up moving to Leipzig as a replacement for Josko Gvardiol.
The 20-year-old has since made 16 appearances for the Bundesliga giants and recently earned his maiden international cap off the bench against Scotland.
It is now reported by Bild that United are still interested in signing the central defender and the club’s scouts have watched him ‘again and again’.
However, Leipzig are not planning to part ways with him anytime soon. They believe he can continue his development with them over coming years.
Lukeba would be a good long-term signing
The Frenchman is a left-footed centre-back and has been an instant hit since his move to Bundesliga.
This season, he has a passing accuracy of 91 per cent with 6.3 ball recoveries per appearance.
He has also won 63 per cent of his aerial challenges and has the traits to succeed at United.
Leipzig obviously don’t want to lose him after only recently selling Gvardiol to Manchester City.
Gvardiol was initially touted to leave last year but Leipzig kept hold of him for another 12 months.
In our view, the Bundesliga outfit may have a similar plan in mind with Lukeba too.
Lukeba would be a quality competitor for Lisandro Martinez in the left centre-back role.
However, United may need to stay patient to prise him away from the German outfit.
He is valued at €35 million by Transfermarkt and Leipzig could easily demand double the fee in future.
Stats from Sofascore.com
