{"id":69612,"date":"2026-08-12T14:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69612\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:33:12","slug":"barcelona-initiate-contacts-with-bundesliga-club-to-enquire-defenders-price-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69612\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona initiate contacts with Bundesliga club to enquire defender&#8217;s price &#8211; report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new centre-back is high up Barcelona\u2019s priority list of operations for the summer transfer window, yet remains as one where the club have made the least progress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past few weeks, the Catalans have been superficially linked with several players including Aymeric Laporte, Alessandro Bastoni, Castello Lukeba and even Cristian Romero. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, no notable progress has been made on any front.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, a report on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/barca-rescata-nombre-lukeba-central-133295064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a> brings to light an update on the club\u2019s centre-back aspirations and a critical decision they have taken on that front.<\/p>\n<p>Contacts initiated<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, as conveyed by the Spanish outlet, Barcelona have made contact with RB Leipzig to enquire about the situation and availability of Castello Lukeba. As a left-footed centre-back, he is seen as a great option.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vfb-stuttgart-v-rb-leipzig-bundesliga-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Castello Lukeba of RB Leipzig\" class=\"wp-image-201536\"  \/>Lukeba has been a standout in the Bundesliga. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deco and Hansi Flick really like the player and have had him at the top of their wishlist for a long time now. He is, after all, seen as one of the most promising young centre-backs on the planet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lukeba already has several options on his table from the Premier League but has not left the Bundesliga. A chance to sign for Barcelona, however, appeals to him and he is willing to make the jump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The youngster\u2019s market value stands at \u20ac30 million as matters stand, and Barcelona have called to enquire the price Leipzig expect from his transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Kounde\u2019s situation is key<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ronald Araujo <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/liverpool-move-might-be-the-break-ronald-araujo-desperately-needs-to-get-career-back-on-track-opinion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">has already left Barcelona<\/a> for Liverpool, leaving the centre-back position more vulnerable than before. Barcelona do thus see it as a priority to sign a new player in the department.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fc-barcelona-v-atletico-de-madrid-uefa-champions-league-2025-26-quarter-final-first-leg-1-2-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208651\"  \/>A lot depends on Kounde\u2019s future. (Photo by Eric Alonso\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation of Jules Kounde, however, will have a massive impact on how Barcelona\u2019s interest in Lukeba progresses. After all, the Frenchman has offers on his table and a departure is not ruled out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Should the full-back leave, the club are more likely to pursue a high-quality and high-cost defensive hire. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given the lack of options and Flick\u2019s clear opposition to some names like Bastoni and Romero, Lukeba may well be Barcelona\u2019s best bet apart from Laporte.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new centre-back is high up Barcelona\u2019s priority list of operations for the summer transfer window, yet remains&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,16858,223,2986],"class_list":["post-69612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-castello-lukeba","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-rb-leipzig"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}