Piero Hincapie the Defender to Add Balance to Liverpool?

Welcome back to Rating the Rumour, which does exactly what it says on the tin. We’ll be taking the biggest transfer rumours related to Premier League teams and rating the likelihood of the moves coming to fruition.

The final rating will be decided based on the potential fit of the player into the rumoured buying club, the need for that club to sign a player for the position played, whether the player is of the level required by the club, whether the club could afford the rumoured price and whether or not the player is even likely to be available for transfer.

We will not factor in the reliability of the rumour, as it would likely cause mass amounts of crying from outlets, journalists and “journalists” who would have to be denounced as spoofers.

With the ground rules laid out let’s look at Piero Hincapie to Liverpool, which has been reported by BILD in recent days.

Fit

Hand, meet Glove. Piero Hincapie is a perfect fit for this Liverpool team.

Capable of playing centrally in a back 4, left side of a back 3, left back in a back 4 or even as a left wing-back in a back 5, Hincapie is the perfect multi-functional defender to balance Liverpool’s current defensive shape and he’s also both versatile and talented enough to fit into any other shape Jurgen Klopp might wish to move his team into.

Having Hincapie play as an orthodox left back while defending, and sliding over to form a back three with Ibou Konate and Virgil Van Dijk when Liverpool shift from 4-3-3 to 3-2-2-3 when Trent Alexander-Arnold moves into midfield is a perfect fit for Liverpool, and for Hincapie.

Fit Rating – 2/2

Need

If Jurgen Klopp wishes to continue playing in a manner that has his right back inverting into midfield to form a four-man box midfield, thus leaving behind a three-man defence, then he has an enormous need for a left-footed defender who can play both left-back and centre-back.

Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas have played this role since Klopp changed his shape last season, but both are ill-suited to it as neither have the size or defensive strength to make it work as intended.

Klopp needs someone who is strong defensively, quick, comfortable on the ball and able to play out wide or centrally. Hincapie is all of those things.

Need Rating – 2/2

Level

Hincapie is one of the best young defenders in Europe who has adapted, with ease, to each new level he has reached in his career so far. Having excelled at youth level in his homeland, he moved to Argentina where he quickly showed himself to be head and shoulders above most opponents. A move to Leverkusen followed, and he has regularly been a stand-out performer in several positions both in domestic competition and in Europe.

He has also excelled on the international stage, amassing 30 caps before his 22nd birthday, and playing on the biggest stage of them all without looking like it was beyond his capabilities. There’s little doubt that he would be well equipped to handle the Premier League.

Level Rating – 2/2

Affordability

The asking price on Hincapie varies depending on what source you believe. Bild are quoting a price of close to £60mil, which seems excessive given the fact that Hincapie has only started two Bundesliga matches so far this season. Surely if he was a player they valued at that sort of figure, he would be starting more regularly.

Other reports suggest that £40mil is the price point that Leverkusen would do business at and that seems far more realistic. Leverkusen paid less than £10mil for him in the summer of 2021 so it would represent a significant profit for the Bundesliga club.

Affordability Rating – 2/2

For Sale?

This is the big question regarding this deal. During the summer transfer window, Hincapie was linked with moves away but nothing came of it, that might point to him being available for the right price.

But things have changed at Leverkusen and they are locked into a title challenge this season under Xabi Alonso and may not want to lose any players in January, even one who doesn’t start every week. Hincapie hasn’t been the automatic starter his talent suggests he should be as Alonso has settled on a back three of Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou for Bundesliga matches, with Alex Grimaldo entrenched as the left wing-back. Hincapie has been a regular in the Europa League but that isn’t going to be enough to keep him happy.

Leverkusen would likely be willing to part with the Ecuadorian but only if their asking price was met.

Availability Rating – 1/2

Final Rating

This rumour makes a lot of sense and grades out at a 9/10. That doesn’t mean it will happen, but it appears to be the type of transfer Liverpool should be pursuing as Hincapie would solve a large issue in the Liverpool team.