Rumour Has It: Tottenham explore move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie

Hincapie,
21,
is
in
his
second
Bundesliga
season
after
arriving
from
Argentinian
side
Talleres,
and
has
forced
his
way
into
Leverkusen’s
starting
XI,
earning
13
starts
among
his
15
total
league
appearances
this
campaign.

He
also
has
24
senior
international
caps
for
Ecuador
under
his
belt,
playing
every
minute
of
his
country’s
three
group
stage
fixtures
at
the
Qatar
World
Cup.

Hincapie’s
emergence
has
not
gone
unnoticed,
and
Leverkusen
are
said
to
be
informing
interested
clubs
that
any
sale
of
their
talented
youngster
will
come
at
a
heavy
price.

TOP
STORY
–
SPURS
KICK
THE
TYRES
ON
PRIZED
LEVERKUSEN
DEFENDER

According
to
the
Sun,
Spurs
boss
Antonio
Conte
is
desperate
to
add
a
new
central
defender
before
the
end
of
the
month,
but
the
club
were
knocked
back
by
a
massive
£80million
price
tag.

The
report
indicates
Hincapie
would
be
in
favour
of
a
move
to
the
Premier
League,
and
to
Tottenham
specifically,
but
that
it
would
be
far
more
likely
to
occur
at
the
end
of
the
season.

Interestingly,
the
Sun
believes
Leverkusen
would
be
open
to
accepting
as
little
as
£20m
if
it
meant
Hincapie
could
spend
the
rest
of
the
season
on
loan
with
the
German
side,
but
with
his
contract
tying
him
to
Leverkusen
until
2026,
it
is
hard
to
believe
they
would
budge
so
significantly
from
their
lofty
valuation.

It
also
mentions
Tottenham’s
pursuit
of
Sporting
right-back
Pedro
Porro
is
on
the
verge
of
falling
through,
but
Portuguese
publication
Record
is
reporting
that
a
verbal
agreement
is
in
place
for
a
£42m
(€48m)
deal.

ROUND-UP

–
GiveMeSport
are
reporting

Chelsea
will
make
a
run
at
23-year-old
Juventus
striker

Dusan
Vlahovic
at
the
end
of
the
season,
while
Calciomercato
adds

Juventus
are
anticipating
the
Serbian’s
departure
and
will
seek
to
replace
him
with
25-year-old
Atalanta
forward

Ademola
Lookman.

–
According
to
Sport,

Barcelona
are
focusing
on
25-year-old
Wolves
midfielder

Ruben
Neves
as
their
long-term
replacement
for
Sergio
Busquets
after
failing
to
land
Real
Sociedad
talent
Martin
Zubimendi.

–

Manchester
United
believe
they
are
priced
out
of
the

Harry
Kane
sweepstakes,
per
the
Daily
Star.

–
Mail
on
Sunday
are
reporting

Arsenal
have
returned
with
a
second
offer
for
21-year-old
Brighton
and
Hove
Albion
midfielder

Moises
Caicedo,
but
their
£70m
bid
is
still
below
the
£80m
demand.

–
The
Telegraph
adds
that
the
outcome
of

Arsenal‘s
push
for
Caicedo
will
not
affect
their
desire
to
sign
West
Ham
midfielder

Declan
Rice
after
the
season,
and
they
will
try
to
secure
both.