Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici added to Tottenham Hotspur’s squad in the January transfer window by bringing in Arnaut Danjuma and Pedro Porro from Villarreal and Sporting Lisbon respectively.
The pair have both arrived on loan and could join permanently in the summer, and they could play a big part in the second half of the season as Spurs push for a top-four finish in the Premier League again.
Whilst the main focus for the club will now be on finishing the current campaign strongly and winning silverware, via the FA Cup or Champions League, Paratici and Conte could also have one eye on the summer.
Football London recently reported that Spurs will be in the market to add two central defenders to their squad, as they would like to sign a left-sided centre-back and a player who can be deployed in the middle or on the right of the back three.
The report named RB Leipzig enforcer Josko Gvardiol as one of the club’s top targets to improve their backline but added that they are unlikely to sign him ahead of the 2023/24 campaign as he may be out of their price range and could have more attractive suitors.
Conte could now land a dream alternative to the Croatian by moving on from the World Cup star to pursue a deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie, who is also reportedly of interest to Tottenham.
Both players are 21-year-old left-footed, centre-backs who play in the Bundesliga, and this makes for a fair comparison between them and their form this season.
Hincapie has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.78 across 16 appearances in the German top flight for Leverkusen this term. The £80m-rated gem has completed 82% of his attempted passes and made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per match, whilst winning 53% of his individual duels.
Meanwhile, Gvardiol has averaged a rating of 6.74 and made 1.3 tackles and interceptions per outing, winning 58% of his battles whilst completing 89% of his passes in the Bundesliga for Leipzig, as per Sofascore.
Both Hincapie and Gvardiol also rank in the top 3% of players in their position in Europe’s top five leagues for dribbles completed per 90 over the last 365 days, which suggests that they would suit the outside left centre-back role in Conte’s system, driving out from the back to build up play.
These statistics suggest that Hincapie, who has been dubbed “dominant in the air” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would be a dream alternative to Gvardiol if Tottenham are unable to afford, or convince, the Croatian in the summer.
The Ecuador international has performed to a similarly excellent standard in the Bundesliga this season and provides similar qualities as a left-footed defender who suits playing in a wider role, which is why Conte must push Paratici to secure a deal for the 21-year-old as a dream alternative to the Leipzig gem.