Profiling left-footed defenders Liverpool can target in the market - ft. C. Lukeba, P. Hincapié and G. Inácio

Who should be prioritise?

Written on 21/08/2024

With it being touted that Joe Gomez is close to leaving Liverpool (in addition to Sepp van den Berg’s departure), it is almost weird to think that the club will not sign a defender before the end of the summer transfer window.

If Gomez leaves, the Reds will be down to three regular centre-backs going into the season with an extended Champions League format - Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Jarell Quansah. Nat Phillips would be the far-fetched fourth option. Even Quansah may not be classed in the ‘regular’ category. He is still a young player who probably needs this season to develop his game further. 

Moreover, none of the four centre-back options I mentioned are left-footed. In the current system under Arne Slot, it feels that a versatile left-footed defender who can play both as a centre-back and left-back is the need of the hour. Andrew Robertson can play there (tucking in from his usual left-back position). But he is 30 now and cannot play centre-back anyway if van Dijk needs resting. Konaté and Quansah can fight for the right centre-back position.

Keeping the premise in mind, let’s move ahead and look at the three realistic players Liverpool can target in the market and sign one before the deadline is crossed. What we will do is profile each of them and look at their numbers. 

Castello Lukeba was a youth product at Lyon in France before making his senior debut there in 2021. Last summer, RB Leipzig signed him and played him as a left centre-back in either a back four or a back three. 

In terms of attributes, the 21-year-old is a strong one-v-one defender who is good at winning ground duels and not getting dribbled past very often when pitched against wingers in wide areas. He has played as a left-back a few times in his career as well.

Let’s look at his in-possession dashboard below.

Having a 90%+ pass success rate for someone making a minimum of 50 passes per 90 is on the elite side. That’s what Lukeba produced last season in the Bundesliga. He was very good at progressing the ball with his passes as well. 

Although progressive carries were not the Frenchman’s thing last season because he played most of the games as a centre-back in a two, he is someone who does not shy away from keeping the ball and carrying it to make better angles for the prospective pass forward.

Here’s his heatmap in the league last season - 

As expected, most of the action is on the left-hand side with some close to the touchline. There are red zones just above the centre circle as well, showing how high Leipzig operate in general on and off the ball.

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Piero Hincapié was a youth product at the famous Ecuadorian club Independiente before playing for Argentine side CA Talleres. Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen signed him from the latter in the summer of 2021. 

The Ecuador international has predominantly played as a wide centre-back in a three-at-the-back system. He has been used at left-back on certain occasions too. There has only been a handful of games where he has played as a left-sided centre-back in a back four.

In terms of attributes, Hincapié possesses good passing skills, is strong in tackles and is decent aerially.