Tottenham, Newcastle, Liverpool centre-back target ‘open’ for January move but £60m exit clause could prove problematic

Premier League trio Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool have all seemingly been handed a boost in their efforts to sign Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie in January.

All three clubs are being tipped to bolster their defensive ranks in the winter transfer window after suffering their own issues throughout the first half of the campaign.

Spurs lost Micky van de Ven fairly early in the campaign to a serious hamstring injury that ended up exposing their lack of depth in the position behind the Dutchman and Cristian Romero.

Newcastle suffered a similar fate with Sven Botman, although the Dutchman was back on the bench for Saturday’s thumping of 10-man Fulham.

As for Liverpool, the loss of Joel Matip to a season-ending ACL injury is a crushing blow for the Reds, although Klopp has already hinted that he is still happy with the centre-backs he has at his disposal.

But now Sky Sport Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg has delivered an update on Hincapie‘s future, amidst strong links to the Premier League.

The 21-year-old is thought to have been scouted by all three clubs this season but they will have not him much lately, with the Ecuador having dropped to the bench for Xabi Alonso’s men.

And Plettenberg has provided an update that could bode well for the Premier League trio.

The reporter took to X to claim that the Bayer Leverkusen man is “open for a new challenge in winter as he wants to play regularly.” Plettenburg then added that the talented defender “is not happy as a substitute.”

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Leverkusen wary of losing Hincapie in tough January run

The one problem for the trio of suitors, however, is that Leverkusen wants to keep the player – largely because they will lose two defenders to the African Cup of Nations in January.

Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou are expected to play for Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast respectively in the competition, which takes place in January and February.

Plettenberg, meanwhile, also revealed how much interest there is in Hincapie, with the player having “many inquiries on the table” and that “talks took place” with unidentified parties.

However, at this stage, it’s not thought there have been any concrete talks over a player who currently has a whopping £60million release clause in his contract.

Despite dropping to the bench for Leverkusen, talent scout Jacek Kulig has previously described Hincapie as a “complete and dominant CB” who is a “top talent”.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are back in action next Saturday when they host Everton, while Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday and Newcastle head to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

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