Late Tottenham move for Bundesliga ace under threat as Newcastle join pursuit and hold discussions in London

Tottenham face competition from Newcastle to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie, according to a report.

Antonio Conte’s side have announced just one new arrival so far this month, with forward Arnaut Danjuma joining on loan from Villarreal for the rest of the season. Tottenham have the option to sign him permanently if he impresses, according to Villarreal.

Despite the January transfer deadline getting close, Conte still wants more players to join his squad.

With this in mind, Tottenham recently came to a full agreement with Sporting Lisbon for the signing of right-back Pedro Porro.

However, as per David Ornstein of The Athletic, the deal is now off. Sporting have decided against selling Porro, and the 23-year-old is thought to be ‘distraught’ about the late U-turn.

Tottenham could now look to sign Inter Milan star Denzel Dumfries instead. He is a long-term target of Manchester United’s, but the Red Devils may now have to watch him go to north London.

Dumfries might not be the only player who joins Spurs late in the winter window, as the club are also eyeing centre-back Hincapie.

On Sunday, German outlet Bild claimed Spurs had sent a ‘verbal offer’ to Leverkusen for the Ecuador international. It is worth €25million (£22m).

Bayer Leverkusen asking price revealed amid Spurs, Newcastle interest

However, Leverkusen are unlikely to accept this as they want £34m for Hincapie.

Football Insider now provide their information on Hincapie’s future. It is claimed Spurs are still in negotiations with Leverkusen over the 21-year-old, but they are now facing a threat in the form of Newcastle.

Eddie Howe’s team have joined the race for Hincapie and could scupper Spurs’ move. To make matters worse for Conte, Newcastle held talks with the player’s agent in London earlier this month to discuss a potential deal.

It is worth noting that Newcastle want to sign Hincapie in the summer, whereas Spurs hope to land him immediately. So it will be interesting to see whether Newcastle’s interest pushes Spurs into upping their offer and reaching an agreement with Leverkusen as soon as possible.

Newcastle may have advantage in Piero Hincapie chase

Newcastle lurking could put Hincapie off moving to Spurs, though. There are three reasons why the Bundesliga star might want to join Newcastle over Spurs.

First of all, the Magpies are higher in the Premier League table right now and slightly more likely to achieve Champions League qualification.

Plus, Newcastle having wealthy owners means they can hand Hincapie better wages than Spurs would be able to.

Finally, Newcastle are more of a long-term project than Spurs. Conte is still unsure about signing a new contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And if he leaves, Spurs could go downhill.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are on an upward trajectory and will probably have Howe in the dugout for several more years.

Amidst all of this, Leverkusen would love to keep Hincapie as he is an important player for them. But they will struggle to hold off the lucrative reach of the Premier League, both in terms of a transfer fee and Hincapie’s potential wages.

Meanwhile, Spurs are in ‘advanced talks’ to offload a forward back to his home country, according to reports.