Who is Piero Hincapie? The promising Ecuadorian to bolster Tottenham's defence
The January transfer window is often a difficult one to strengthen in, but Tottenham do have previous when the window re-opens at the turn of the year. Spurs waited until deadline day at the start of 2022 before they confirmed the arrivals of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus.
A key reason behind the struggles to invest in January is the ability to bring in players capable of improving the first team squad, but Bentancur and Kulusevski did just that, the pair vital in Spurs' top-four finish. Many had expected Spurs to really go guns blazing in the summer, and while they did invest accordingly, the club did miss out on top left centre-back targets. Alessandro Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol were high on the wishlist, yet the former elected to stay at Inter and the latter looks set for a high profile move, be it next month or in the summer.
Ultimately, Spurs settled on the loan addition of Clement Lenglet, and while he struggled for game time at Barcelona, the Frenchman has proven a shrewd addition to the squad in north London. However, as was evident in the 2-2 draw with Brentford on Boxing Day, Spurs need further reinforcements in defence. They can't compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City financially, the pair both interested in Gvardiol, so it means picking up bargains in up and coming stars, and maximising the star pull of playing under Antonio Conte in a state-of-the-art stadium in London.
Options, though, are not thin on the ground, with Piero Hincapie among those rumoured to be wanted by Spurs. The 20-year-old has admirers in England, with Chelsea also reportedly keeping tabs on the Ecuador international, and it is for good reason too. The Blues are thought to be prioritising Benoit Badiashile of Monaco, so Spurs may in fact have a clear run at Hincapie, which would be a huge boost for the north London side.
Spurs won't go spending big on established stars, but rather rely on bringing in promising players with the aim to develop said players into world class performers. While this does go against Conte's mantra of signing high-profile players with the aim to immediately improve options at the club, Spurs are certainly capable of striking the right balance.
"We need to have patience and we need to have time, and try to improve. Don’t make mistakes in the transfer market and also to have patience for the players that you are going to sign, to wait for them to develop. You can sign players with experience at 30 years old with great victories behind them – Casemiro for example," Conte said this week, so Spurs are unlikely to go all guns blazing on established personnel as Manchester United did with Casemiro, and Hincapie fits the bill of up and coming talent with ample experience already behind them.
Hincapie has been a first team regular for Bayer Leverkusen since joining from Argentine outfit Talleres in the summer of 2021. Considering Leverkusen are competing against the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the German side, like Spurs, need to delve a little deeper and work a little harder in their bid to outmanoeuvre the more established teams in their division in order to remain competitive.
It's fair to say, though, that Hincapie has been a success story for Bayer Leverkusen, so much so that when it does come time to sell, the German side stand to make a hefty profit. As a left-foorted centre-back, Hincapie is a rarity in the modern game. Managers seeking balance at the back, particularly in a three-man defence, will so often seek a left-footed defender, which goes some way to explaining why Spurs were keen on Bastoni and Gvardiol earlier in the year.
Of course, the pair would have vastly improved the Spurs backline, even if they were not predominantly left footed, and there is an argument to be made that Hincapie would do the same. He doesn't have the experience of Lenglet and Ben Davies, yet is a capable distributor that would benefit the left wing-back, be it Ryan Sessegnon or Ivan Perisic. Indeed, of those to have made 10 or more appearances, Hincapie's return of 59.3 passes per 90 ranks 24th in the Bundesliga this season.
In addition, 242 forward passes ranks 35th of outfielders to have made 10 or more appearances, while 36.3% of his passes go forward. For a Spurs side that does look to maximise the wing-backs to stretch opponents, developing a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'attacking down the wings' in the process, a centre-back to get the ball rolling, so to speak, from defence is vital, with Hincapie fitting the bill.
That said, at his age, inexperience can rear its head, and this comes to the fore in the form of ill-discipline. Since the start of last season, Hincapie has been yellow carded eight times in the Bundesliga, not a bad return, yet he is one of two players have received multiple red cards in Germany's top tier this term, the Ecuadorian dismissed in Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 win at Mainz in August, and again in their 5-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt in October.
This, though, is a minor critique of Hincapie, who has shown that he is not only a player for the future, but one for the here and now, which would explain Spurs' supposed interest in the defender. Whether they sign Hincapie next month, it remains to be seen - Bayer Leverkusen will be reluctant to cash in on one of their main centre-backs at this stage of the campaign - yet he is one who would bolster Spurs' backline, and a defender who could feasibly nail down that left centre-back role in north London for years to come.
