Tottenham Hotspur have ramped up their transfer business in the final weeks of the summer transfer window, as evidenced by their swift negotiations with Bournemouth for the signing of Dominic Solanke.
Ange Postecoglou stressed the importance of signing a new No.9 earlier this month and the club is about to grant his wishes by landing Solanke, who was a star performer for Bournemouth last season with 19 Premier League goals. After the potential acquisition of the former England international, it looks like Tottenham may shift their focus towards strengthening their rearguard.
According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg (h/t Fichajes), Tottenham are in a three-way battle with Liverpool and Atletico Madrid for the signing of Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie.
Piero Hincapie has gone from strength to strength since arriving at Bayer Leverkusen from Argentinean club Talleres in 2021. The Ecuador international played a vital role in Xabi Alonso’s team going unbeaten in domestic competitions last season, winning the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal in the process.
The 22-year-old, who can also operate at left-back, made 43 appearances across all competitions, scoring and registering a goal apiece. The left-footed defender, earning €40K-a-week at Bay Arena, however, has expressed his desire to leave the Bundesliga champions this summer.
The aforementioned report adds that Hincapie wants to end his three-year stay at Bayer Leverkusen and “take a step forward in his career”, sparking interest from several clubs including Spurs.
The north London side are looking to strengthen their defensive unit for the upcoming season. Ange Postecoglou wants Hincapie in his squad to complement Cristian Romero in central defence, as well as compete with Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin.
The addition of Hincapie would further solidify Spurs’ defence while improving the quality of depth in Postecoglou’s squad. The Ecuadorian has lovely composure on the ball, game-reading sense, tackling skills and versatility, which has led to Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso terming him as a “very modern defender”.
“I think he’s a very modern defender. He can play in different positions. He’s served us as a full-back in recent games, but has also been the left centre-back when we’ve played with a back three. He’s aggressive, is making better decisions when he has the ball, backs himself more to play diagonal passes and get in behind. It motivates me to have a player with his potential and desire because he helps you and you help him. He’s a great player,” Alonso waxed lyrical about Hincapie in March 2023.
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Since then, Hincapie has evolved as an overall defender and become more of a leader of Bayer’s defence. At just 22, he could become a long-term asset at Spurs. With the South American keen to move on from Leverkusen to develop further in his career, our club must look to bid for him at any cost.
