Tottenham have already signed three players this summer, with Richarlison close to becoming the fourth new addition. This came after Antonio Conte led his side to a fourth-place finish, meaning a return to Champions League football, for the next campaign.
However, there are still positions on the pitch than need more depth and quality, including the defence. Spurs have already signed Ivan Perisic as a left wing-back and Djed Spence is a player who has been heavily linked with a move to N17, as a right wing-back option.
The back three will need some more incomings, with Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez all being linked with moves away. Although it is unlikely that all three will depart, if they did, this would leave Conte without any options for his back three.
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Ben Davies had an arguably easier season than his fellow defenders, in terms of regular starts, as he was the only real option on the left of the back three. It is for that reason that a left centre-back is high on Antonio Conte's wishlist this summer.
Someone that has already been on Spurs' radar is Piero Hincapie, who made 33 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen last season, in both the Bundesliga and Europa League. The 20-year-old contributed to three goals and made appearances as both a centre-back and a left-back, making him the perfect fit to give Davies competition.
Another left-sided centre-back that Tottenham have been linked with is Clement Lenglet, a player who football.london understands turned down a loan move to N17 last summer. The 27-year-old could be a good back-up option for Conte, in a move that would likely be a loan, but football.london understands he is a player Spurs will turn to, if they feel they can't get any of the targets that are further up on their centre-back wishlist.
Whether Spurs get Lenglet or not, a player like Hincapie could be the perfect fit in the Italian's system. The defender praised Gustavo Alfaro, manager of the Ecuador national team, in an interview earlier this year.
"He always tells us that he is not afraid to use young players and that shows us a lot of confidence and forces us to give 100%," the 20-year-old explained. Conte has used a number of young players in his Spurs side, with the likes of Ryan Sessegnon and Dejan Kulusevski getting regular game time last season.
This highlights that if a player works hard enough, he will be given an opportunity, which Hincapie is clearly driven by. In the same interview, the Bayer Leverkusen man opened up on his move to Europe and admitted that "it’s a learning process and I’m a very young boy".
"I wanted to make the leap to Europe, I wasn’t afraid, but it was an experience in a very different country and with the language problem, it wasn’t easy," he said. Another potential boost for Spurs, with a player who has already experienced moving and settling in to a new country.
Hincapie admitted that the biggest difference he noticed, playing in Europe was the intensity and "the teams wants to keep attacking, there is no pause". Conte is exactly this type of manager, always wanting more from his players and striving to make his side the best.
The 20-year-old then opened up on his favoured position and why he enjoys playing in a defensive role. "It’s the position I feel most comfortable in," he admitted. "I can give order to my team-mates and that’s something I like. It also gives me an outlet when it comes to playing the ball, much more than at full-back, always going back and forth. When I play as a centre-back and move to full-back it’s very difficult for me to adapt. It’s very different to play facing the pitch than playing on the wing.
"I haven’t done badly at full-back but I like playing at centre-back, although if the coach asks me to, I’ll give my best if I have to play at full-back," Hincapie added.
The defender continued, talking about his past and then revealed who he has been compared to. "When I started as a kid I played much more offensively, as a winger," the defender said.
"I used to score a lot of goals. I was like Neymar, I didn’t dribble as much as him but I was a great goalscorer. I even took free kicks! Maybe that’s why I’m now a centre-back who likes to go forward."
Not only has Hincapie been compared to Neymar, his brother also compared him to Cristian Romero. "My brother tells me I’m a lot like him, I like him a lot," he explained.
The Ecuador international's admissions could hand Conte a number of boosts, if he made the move to Tottenham. Not only is Hincapie a young player who is willing to learn and knows there is still room for improvement, he is versatile and clearly has quality, being compared to someone like Neymar.
Romero is another young defender, only making the move to N17 last summer and has already made a big impact on the Spurs side. If Hincapie could provide similiar quality on the left-side of a back three, Conte could have a dangerous trio available and with the defender being valued up to £25.7million (CIES), he could be a great investment for the present and future at Tottenham.
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