Liverpool turn to €90m star after Tottenham beat Klopp to transfer and ‘top target’ signs ‘new deal’

According to reports, Liverpool have joined West Ham United in the race to sign Piero Hincapie from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool have focused on signing new midfielders this summer and they have already spent £95m to sign Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton and RB Leipzig respectively.

The Reds remain in the market for new midfielders after losing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League.,

After missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, they are set to sign Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart and they are also pursuing Crystal Palace defensive midfielder Cheick Doucoure.

Liverpool are also on the lookout for players in other positions as they are interested in signing a young defender who could compete with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

They have been heavily linked with Sporting Lisbon centre-back Goncalo Inacio but he has penned a new contract with the Portuguese side. His previous deal included a £39m release clause and Liverpool’s ‘top target’ has a new exit clause which is worth around £52m. 

German outlet Fussball Transfers are now reporting that Liverpool and West Ham are ‘in the running’ to sign Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 21-year-old signed for Leverkusen in 2021 and he’s been capped 27 times at international level for Ecuador over the past couple of years.

The centre-back has been out of action with a broken metatarsal of late but the report claims he will be back to ‘full’ fitness ‘in the last week of August’.

West Ham have ‘not broken their contact’ with Leverkusen regarding Hincapie, who also has ‘admirers at Liverpool’.

‘The Reds are looking at the transfer market for a left-footed central defender’ and it’s said that ‘Micky van de Ven was a candidate for the position’ before the Dutchman signed for rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The report adds: ‘In addition to West Ham and Liverpool, there are other clubs from the island that have expressed an interest in Hincapie. Accordingly, the personal details could become acute towards the end of the transfer period.’