Chelsea in the race to sign “elite” £50m Cucurella replacement

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The newest trend emerging in football is the use of hybrid full-backs, which are commonly centre-backs that can fulfil the fullback role, allowing tactical versatility and extra physicality.

Chelsea attempted this at one stage with Marc Cucurella under Mauricio Pochettino but some high-class Premier League examples include Manchester City‘s use of Josko Gvardiol, and Arsenal‘s use of the likes of Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.

lloyd-kelly-josko-gvardiol-tottenham-opinion

Most of these players were bought as natural central defenders, and have been converted into these hybrid fullbacks to provide tactical versatility for their side, and Chelsea are now after their very own archetype.

Chelsea looking at Bundesliga defender

According to reports from Spain, Chelsea are one of the clubs set to battle it out for the signature of RB Leipzig defender, Castello Lukeba. Other clubs interested include Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.

Leipzig would be willing to let the 21-year-old go for around £50m according to the reports, with his contract expiring in 2028. Labelled as a “gem” in the past by scout Jacek Kulig after his great start for Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1, he would be an eye-catching signing.

The French defender has made eight appearances for the German outfit so far this season, contributing to four clean sheets in his 648 minutes played.

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How Lukeba compares to Cucurella

Chelsea’s two left-back options this season have been Cucurella and new signing Renato Veiga.

Ben Chilwell is still at the club, but his 45 minutes played against Barrow is the only action he has had so far under Enzo Maresca, as he doesn’t seem to be in the long-term plans of the Italian.

Cucurella has played all seven Premier League games for Chelsea this season, totalling 593 minutes and contributing to two clean sheets. Meanwhile, Veiga has made eight appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring one goal, providing one assist, and totalling 487 minutes played.

But, how do they compare to Lukeba? We’ve got the answer.

Lukeba vs Cucurella vs Veiga comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)	Lukeba	Cucurella	Veiga
Goals + Assists	0.00	0.00	0.23
Progressive Carries	1.01	1.08	2.40
Progressive Passes	2.75	2.92	6.40
Passes Attempted	73.2	57.8	71.2
Pass Completion %	91.1%	88.8%	88.2%
Tackles	1.74	1.38	3.60
Blocks	2.03	1.54	1.60
Interceptions	0.42	0.83	0.91
Aerials Won	1.45	1.38	0.80
Stats taken from FBref

The metrics tell us what Lukeba would bring to the Chelsea squad, as well as backing up the excellent business to sign Veiga this summer from Basel for a fee of around £12m, which looks like a real bargain.

The 21-year-old Portuguese defender has the most goal involvements of the three, the best progression numbers, and the most tackles + interceptions, showing how effective he is on both sides of the ball. Veiga also made his senior Portugal debut the other night, starting against Poland in their 3-1 victory.

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

Said to possess a “freak profile” by data analyst Ben Mattinson, Lukeba, who is also just 21-years-old, would offer another full-back hybrid similar to Veiga. He’d bring a 6-foot stocky central defender build, with the on-ball quality to match, shown by his passing volume and passing accuracy, proving he is ready to play in ball-dominant sides.

As good as Cucurella has started this season, and he is clearly one of Maresca’s favourites, starting all seven Premier League games so far, a signing such as Lukeba could provide a lot of competition in that area, between himself, Cucurella and, of course, Veiga, who is showing all the signs of a top class player.