Castello Lukeba

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Castello Lukeba
Castello Lukeba in 2022.png
Lukeba with Lyon in 2022
Personal information
Full name Junior Castello Lukeba [1]
Date of birth (2002-12-17) 17 December 2002 (age 22) [1]
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
Number 23
Youth career
2009–2011 Saint-Genis Laval
2011–2021 Lyon
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2020–2021 Lyon B 9 (0)
2021–2023 Lyon 58 (4)
2023– RB Leipzig 43 (1)
International career‡
2018–2019 France U17 6 (0)
2021 France U20 1 (0)
2022– France U21 20 (0)
2024 France Olympic 10 (0)
2023– France 1 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Flag of France.svg  France
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2024 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:21, 9 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024

Junior Castello Lukeba (born 17 December 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the France national team.

Contents

Club career

Lyon

Having joined the Olympique Lyonnais Academy in 2011, Lukeba signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 July 2021. [3] He made his professional debut for Lyon on the 7 August 2021 as a starter against Brest on 2021–22 Ligue 1 opening round. He played full 90 minutes during the match but it eventually ended in a 1–1 draw. [4] Lukeba made his European football debut on 25 November 2021 on a 3–1 against Brøndby in 2021–22 UEFA Europa League group stage. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 December 2021 against Metz with a header, assisted by Rayan Cherki with a cross following a corner. [5] In January 2022, he extended his contract until 2025. [6]

RB Leipzig

On 11 August 2023, Lukeba moved to the Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for a total reported fee of €34 million, signing a five-year contract. [7] [8] Lukeba repeatedly emphasised his excitement and eagerness to join RB Leipzig, saying "I was extremely keen on joining RB Leipzig and moving to the Bundesliga, so I’m really happy that the move is now complete. I’m excited by the training ground, the stadium, the city and, above all, the team with all the young players – I can’t wait to play football here." [9] He made his debut for Leipzig on 19 August 2023 in a 3–2 loss against Bayer Leverkusen, being substituted on for Nicolas Seiwald in the 62nd minute. [10] He scored his first goal for RB Leipzig in a 2–2 draw against Bayern Munich on 30 September 2023. [11]

International career

Born in France, Lukeba is of Angolan descent. [12] He decided to represent France at the international level and received his first call up in France U-21 in November 2021, where he joined his club mates Maxence Caqueret, Rayan Cherki, and Malo Gusto. [13]

On 9 October 2023, Lukeba received his first call-up to the France national team for matches against the Netherlands and Scotland, replacing the injured Axel Disasi. [14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 February 2025 [15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon B 2020–21 CFA 2 70———70
2021–22 CFA 220———20
Total90———90
Lyon 2020–21 Ligue 1 0000——00
2021–22 Ligue 1242006 [b] 0—302
2022–23 Ligue 134240——382
Total5844060—684
RB Leipzig 2023–24 Bundesliga 321207 [c] 000411
2024–25 Bundesliga110204 [c] 0—170
Total4314011000581
Career total110580170001355

International

As of match played 17 October 2023 [16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 202310
Total10

Honours

RB Leipzig

France U23

References

  1. 1 2 "Squad List: Men's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 27 July 2024. p. 2. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "Castello Lukeba". Olympique Lyonnais. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "First professional contracts for Lukeba, Lega and Bossiwa; Nsombi signs a development deal". www.OL.fr.
  4. ↑ "Résultat et résumé OL - Brest, Ligue 1 Uber Eats, 1re journée, samedi 07 août 2021". L'Équipe.
  5. ↑ "Après OL – Metz : L'ascension de Castello Lukeba" (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 23 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Prolongation de Castello Lukeba jusqu'en 2025" (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 3 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "CASTELLO LUKEBA JOINS RB LEIPZIG". RB Leipzig. 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Transfer of Castello Lukeba to RB Leipzig". Olympique Lyonnais. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Castello Lukeba joins RB Leipzig: long-term contract". rbleipzig.com. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Sofascore. "Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig live score, H2H and lineups | Sofascore". www.sofascore.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "RB Leipzig 2-2 Bayern Munich (30 Sep, 2023) Final Score - ESPN (UK)". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "França: Castello Lukeba estreia a titular na principal liga francesa". 9 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Olympique Lyonnais. Castello Lukeba surgit après une progression constante". www.leprogres.fr.
  14. ↑ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Lukeba Called In For Injured Disasi By France". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  15. ↑ Castello Lukeba at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  16. ↑ Castello Lukeba at National-Football-Teams.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  17. ↑ Lisjak, Mitja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija . Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  18. ↑ Ronay, Barney (9 August 2024). "Camello's extra-time double clinches football gold for Spain against France". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 August 2024.
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