Liverpool are likely to invest in centre-backs at the end of the season as sporting Richard Hughes and manager Arne Slot look to freshen up the backline for the upcoming years.
Virgil van Dijk is out of contract next summer and while talks are ongoing between the two camps, the defender has remained non-committal about his future at Liverpool.
The Reds want to hold on to the club captain given his transformational and leadership qualities but as things stand, he is free to discuss a pre-contract with clubs outside England.
Liverpool are looking at several centre-backs, both young and experienced players in a bid to identify a potential successor or a long-term replacement for Van Dijk.
Castello Lukeba is one of the young centre-backs the Reds have been tracking but he recently signed a new five-year contract with RB Leipzig.
It emerged that the new deal has a €90m release clause, which means that Liverpool would have to pay as much as they forked out for Virgil van Dijk.
However, fresh details have emerged about the nature of the release clause in the Frenchman’s new contract with the Bundesliga club.
The release clause in the Liverpool target’s contract has a limited validity
The new contract has made sure that RB Leipzig get as much as they received for Josko Gvardiol when he joined Manchester City last year.
However, the release clause is not valid for the length of the contract and according to German magazine Kicker, it will be in place for a limited period.
The buyout clause in the defender’s contract will only remain valid for the summer of 2025 and 2026.
After 2026, clubs wanting to sign him would have to negotiate a transfer fee with RB Leipzig.
The German club have managed to protect their interest while making sure that they get a massive price for Lukeba if he leaves in the next two years.
The 21-year-old Frenchman is considered a defensive talent with massive potential and is expected to join a big club sooner or later.
However, he is still young and it is unclear whether Liverpool will be ready to pay such a big fee for the defender in the next two years.
On the flip side, if Lukeba continues his development, Leipzig could demand more than the current release clause figure after 2026.
