Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie admits he is flattered by reports linking him with a move to the Premier League, when quizzed by Marca about those Tottenham Hotspur reports.
How much can a player really cram into just 12 minutes of action? Well, just ask Piero Hincapie.
Between the 56th and the 72nd minute during Leverkusen’s 5-1 thumping at Eintracht Frankfurt recently, Hincapie somehow found the time to score a diving header, pick up a yellow card, give away a penalty, find himself at fault for two opposition goals even get sent off.
Hincapie’s breathless second-half at the Commerzbank Arena is unlikely to have too much of an impact on his burgeoning reputation, however, with the 20-year-old Ecuador international already firmly established as one of the game’s most exciting young centre-halves.
According to Calciomercato, AC Milan, Roma and Napoli are all keeping tabs on the £17 million-rated Hincapie. As are Tottenham Hotspur.
And rather than distancing himself from the speculation, Hincapie is embracing those Spurs links, admitting that he plans to leave Leverkusen for another, bigger club somewhere down the line.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie is a target for Tottenham Hotspur
“Now, when I read or hear that so many teams love me, it means that I am doing something right,” says the one-time Celtic target, when asked to respond to those Tottenham links.
“In any case, I try to focus on doing my best with Bayer Leverkusen,” adds Hincapie, who plans to make his mark on Spanish soil at some point. “I try to continue improving. So that, if necessary, I can make the leap to another team in the future,”
“I’ve followed La Liga since I was a child. I watch a lot of matches, not just the Clasicos. I would like to lead a big La Liga team one day.”
Hincapie, a technically-gifted, left-footed centre-half who can also play at full-back, could potentially be a replacement for Clement Lenglet at Spurs should the France international return to Barcelona upon the expiry of his loan spell.
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