£48m Liverpool transfer set to be finalised as negotiations are ‘very advanced’ with European club

Lewis Oldham 16 Sep 2023 11:45 AM

Liverpool target Hincapie — Liverpool show interest in Piero Hincapie.

According to reports, Liverpool are in ‘very advanced’ talks with Bayer Leverkusen over signing Ecuador international Piero Hincapie.

It is being widely reported that Liverpool’s focus will turn to signing a new centre-back after they recruited four centre-midfielders during the summer transfer window.

Around £150m was spent to sign Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch before the transfer window closed and they are now looking to secure a long-term replacement for 32-year-old Virgil van Dijk.

Hincapie has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool over the past couple of months. The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the best young defenders in the Bundesliga and he returned from injury during Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on Friday night.

Liverpool have also been linked with Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi of late but if reports are to be believed, they are closing in on Hincapie.

It was recently claimed that Hincapie “would love” to play in the Premier League and he would “push” to leave Bayer Leverkusen if they receive a bid of around £35m.

Ecuadorian outlet Marca90 (via LFC Transfer Room) are now reporting that talks between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are now at a ‘very advanced stage’ and the defender is set to cost the Premier League giants ‘no less’ than £48m.

This has been refuted during a report from Football Transfers, though. They state.

‘Liverpool are not close to any deal for Piero Hincapie despite reports stating otherwise, FootballTransfers has been informed.

‘There have been suggestions that the Reds are in advanced stages of negotiations for the Bayer Leverkusen defender – but we have been told that nothing has progressed since the summer.

‘Hincapie has been linked with a number of clubs recently, including Liverpool, but Xabi Alonso remains a huge fan of the youngster and there is no rush from the German club to make any sale, whether that be in the forthcoming January or the summer.’

Before the summer transfer window closed, club legend Jamie Carragher told Liverpool to sign a “real defender”.

“The big worry for me with Liverpool is defensively. The last action sums it up as they had a corner and they nearly conceded a goal at the other end,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“Liverpool need a holding midfielder. They need a real defender, an out-and-out defender who can play right across that back four.”

Liverpool Piero Hincapie