Liverpool are keen on a summer deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie, but a reliable journalist has revealed that it will be far from cheap to bring him to the Premier League.
How old is Piero Hincapie?
Hincapie is 21 years of age and still has another four years to run on his contract with Xabi Alonso’s side, but despite this, he’s been attracting significant interest from three clubs in particular ahead of the final week of the window, two of them being in the top-flight.
The Bundesliga centre-back earlier this month emerged as a possible target for the Reds, West Ham United and RB Leipzig, but reporter Dominik Schneider soon after confirmed that FSG and Jurgen Klopp had made the first official move and opened talks with the player’s camp regarding a move to Anfield.
The Ecuador international was previously claimed to have had a £35m price tag put on his head, but if the following update is to be believed, it’s now set to cost his admirers almost double should they want to prise him away from the BayArena.
Are Liverpool signing Piero Hincapie?
Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, Bild’s Christian Falk name-checked Liverpool as one of the clubs to be possibly keeping tabs on Hincapie, but admitted that Jorg Schmadtke will find it difficult to get a deal over the line. He said:
“There are many Premier League clubs interested in Piero Hincapie. Liverpool could be one of them. I don’t think there’s enough time to make the deal, as Leverkusen don’t want to sell. If they were forced to think about it, it would have to be a high price – €70m (£60m) and more. I don’t think it’s the right moment for Liverpool to spend this money. I think Schamdtke will know that.
“Leverkusen are very interested in a loan deal for Luke Chambers – they really want him. This could happen, and so you see there talks between Leverkusen and Jorg Schmadtke, but I think he knows it will be too difficult to get Hincapie.”
How good is Piero Hincapie?
According to football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Hincapie is a defensive “wall” at centre-back which is true considering that last season he averaged 2.5 clearances and two aerial wins per game in the Bundesliga, via WhoScored, so should he put pen to paper, he could be an excellent recruit for Liverpool.
The Esmeraldas native, who has the versatility to operate at left-back and slightly higher up on the left side of the midfield alongside his usual role, also ranked in the 98th percentile for progressive carries, displaying his desire to push his team up the pitch which resulted in him scoring one goal and providing the same number of assists.
The Merseyside outfit have reportedly seen an opening offer for Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch rejected. The Reds’ offer was thought to be worth £41m, however, the Bundesliga champions see the player as key player despite starting the campaign on the bench.
Should they be more successful if they make an improved second bid for the Dutch midfielder, Hincapie could be the perfect candidate to follow in his footsteps in late transfer activity at Anfield, making this one to keep an eye on.