Exclusive: Chelsea set to offer €50m for Bundesliga starlet with curious contract detail | OneFootball

Chelsea are planning to make a move for RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, a source has told Chelsea News.

The defender has a new contract which raises his release clause to €90m, but its understood that he could move for significantly less than that. There is a “three tier” clause which drops from €90m this summer to €80m next summer and €65m in the summer of 2027. This confirms reports from Florian Plettenberg yesterday.

Any move won’t be easy to pull off, however: the same source says that Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also in the mix for the young defender, who continues to impress in the Bundesliga.

The source goes on to say that the Blues are preparing a low ball opening offer of €45m-50m, a long way off even the lowest clause in the former Lyon man’s new deal. Curiously, a contract of just 4 to 5 years will apparently be offered – less than the 7 or 8 years the current ownership prefer for expensive new signings.

Chelsea arranging their summer around potential new defender bid

Castello Lukeba in action for RB Leipzig.

We know that Chelsea are looking to sign a new defender this summer, with Dean Huijsen mentioned regularly and plenty of other names swirling in the ether.

After a January which saw the club focused on moving players out, we expect a couple of major additions in the summer, and with Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga now on loan and looking likely to move permanently, another defensive option will be high up the list.

That level of competition for Lukeba will make things difficult however – those are some very big teams interested, and even if we can offer Champions League football, it might not be enough. The 22 year old could have his pick of European giants in the summer, and it will be difficult for Chelsea to present the best offer.