Ranking the top six best replacements for Josko Gvardiol at RB Leipzig

Leipzig will go all guns out in the transfer window to find a replacement for the Croatian

Having a good set of center-backs and full-backs is, more often than not, the basis for any team’s success. Without them, you can struggle to be as solid nor as potent as you need to be to compete. Josko Gvardiol's success in the past few seasons has made him one of the best young defenders in the world right now.

RB Leipzig will the challenging task of finding a suitable replacement for their highly talented defender Josko Gvardiol, who is looking to move on to new endeavors. The club will undoubtedly be on the lookout for a player who can seamlessly slot into their backline and contribute to their defensive solidity.

Leipzig has a range of solid choices to explore in their quest to find the best replacement for Gvardiol:

6. Goncalo Inacio

The Portuguese international who has been at Sporting since 2012, has been a part of the club since his childhood days. The 21-year-old is a left-footed centre-back can play as a left-back too, he made his senior debut for Sporting three years ago. Since then he has become a regular member of the starting XI in the last 18 months or so. Inacio is comfortable in passing and is a good reader of the game defensively. Goncalo Inacio excels in his passing and ball-carrying abilities. 

5. Facundo Medina

RC Lens did something unbelievable last season, they finished second in the Ligue 1, just one point below the Champions, Paris Saint-Germain. One player who has been vital in their success under Franck Haise is Argentine defender Facundo Medina, he can slot in at left-back in a four-man defense, and has also proved his ability to get forward from both positions, using the ball effectively when in the opponent's final third. He's got grit, he's a very good defender and a very good player on the ball.

4. Arthur Theate

The 23-year-old defender from Belgium is going places and is one of the players who can take up the role of a proper center-back in Belgium. He currently plays for the Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais, the Belgian defender who played 35 matches in the Ligue 1 this season and helped them earn a Europa League group stage spot for the 2023-24 season. For a center-back, he has excellent weight and direction of the pass, there’s also an ease to his ball-striking, and a tendency to generate a good amount of power from minimal backlift.

3. Micky Van de Ven

Micky van de Ven broke into the FC Volendam first-team in the 2019-20 season, and he has not looked back. Van de Ven improved in his first few seasons and became the captain of the club he joined at 12 years old. In 2021, he was signed by Wolfsburg, the young Dutch defender has been a regular starter for the club since then. The Dutchman has a good burst of speed off the mark, He plays with an aggressive style which has its positives and negatives, but certainly has elements of dominance in his skillset.

2. Marc Geuhi

The 22-year-old young center-back from England has impressed everybody in the Premier League, the former Chelsea man plays for Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The club captain and known for his leadership and concentration skills despite his young age, Guehi is seen as a calm head and his performances have seen him win three international caps in the last year or so. He also has a World Youth Cup title to his name, with an ability to bring the ball out from the back is what separates him from some of the other defenders, he has been compared to Raphael Varane and is regarded as a tank.

1. Castello Lukeba

The Olympique Lyonnais Academy is famed for bringing through talents such as Karim Benzema, Nabil Fekir, Houssem Aouar, and Hatem Ben Arfa. The latest talent to break through is young centre back Castello Lukeba. Castello Lukeba is already a well-rounded player, he is very comfortable on the ball and able to make progressive passes which advance Lyon into their attacking phase of play.

RB Leipzig's coaching staff sees Lukeba as a potential replacement for Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol, who is close to joining Manchester City. In the recently concluded season, 20-year-old Lukeba played 38 matches for Lyon in all competitions, scoring two goals.