€70m (£59.9m) ‘and more’ was the verdict from Bundesliga transfer insider Christian Falk in his latest exclusive update with CaughtOffside – a considerable leap from the £35m suggested by Ben Jacobs (as relayed by Empire of the Kop) and potentially double should the fee rise in excess of £60m.
“There are many Premier League clubs interested in Piero Hincapie. Liverpool could be one of them,” the German wrote.
“I don’t think there’s enough time to make the deal, as Leverkusen don’t want to sell. If they were forced to think about it, it would have to be a high price – €70m and more.
“I don’t think it’s the right moment for Liverpool to spend this money. I think Schamdtke will know that.
“Leverkusen are very interested in a loan deal for Luke Chambers – they really want him. This could happen, and so you see there talks between Leverkusen and Jorg Schmadtke, but I think he knows it will be too difficult to get Hincapie.”
With the Merseysiders expected to pursue a fourth midfield signing, it’s difficult to imagine the club holding themselves back when it comes to bolstering a key area of the pitch to leave funds free for the Leverkusen man later in the window.
Given the limited time left in the window and the status of the player, it just doesn’t seem to tick the boxes for Jurgen Klopp and his recruitment team.
The profile the side is looking for has been made expressly clear – a left-sided (left-footed) centre-back on the younger end of the scale who is comfortable slotting into the squad as a fourth or fifth-choice option.
With minutes surely available between the left-back and left centre-back roles, one would imagine that any new signing wouldn’t be entirely starved of opportunities, though it’s fair to imagine Virgil van Dijk, for one, starting the vast majority of games in the season whilst he remains 100% fit.
