Liverpool are reportedly “not close to any deal” for Piero Hincapie, despite reports that the Reds are in the advanced stages of negotiations to sign the Bayer Leverkusen defender.
According to Football Transfers, Bayer Leverkusen are in no rush to sell prized defender Piero Hincapie in the upcoming January or summer transfer window amid strong interest from Liverpool.
This comes after contrasting reports which claimed negotiations are “very advanced” for the signing of Piero Hincapie to Liverpool in a deal worth around £48 million.
Liverpool focused on improving their midfield this past summer and spent over £140 million to sign Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Wataru Endo before snapping up Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal.
Despite links with a potential move for Torino’s Perr Schuurs and Sporting CP’s Goncalo Inacio, the Reds decided against bringing in a new central defender during the summer transfer window, instead relying on the existing pool of ageing and injury-prone defenders, including Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez.
It felt like a bold move, especially as money was seemingly available to spend. With their midfield rebuild complete, they are now likely to turn their focus to signing a new defender (or two) once the January window opens. And the defender at the top of their shopping list appears to be Bayer Leverkusen’s Hincapie.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had been linked with a move for the 21-year-old Bayer Leverkusen defender in the closing days of the summer transfer window. But the Bundesliga club batted those approaches out of hand.
Hincapie already has a wealth of experience for a player of his age, surpassing 125 senior appearances at club and international level combined and playing in the World Cup, UEFA Champions League, and Europa League.
Having joined after impressing at local Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle, he has been thriving under former Anfield hero Xabi Alonso, who has Leverkusen high-flying in the Bundesliga ever since his arrival at BayArena and is a huge admirer of the left-sided defender.
The young Ecuadorian defender fits the profile of what Klopp would like in a new centre-back signing. The 21-year-old is left-footed, physical, composed in possession, an intelligent reader of the game, and versatile, giving the German boss the option to shift captain van Dijk to the right side to cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inverting drifts into midfield.
Football Transfers, however, have poured water on the excitement of the Reds faithful following reports that their club are in advanced talks to wrap up an early deal for the defender.
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They have added that Leverkusen have no plans to sell their key defender unless for an astronomical fee. Hincapie only signed a new deal in February of this year that extends his stay until 2027, meaning that there’s no pressure to sell unless a huge offer comes in the upcoming transfer windows.
