Bundesliga Winner ‘At The Top Of The List’ Of Chelsea Transfer Targets But He Will Cost £59M

Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie is being pursued by Chelsea, according to reports in the German media.

The Ecuadorian international, who won the Bundesliga title with his current club last season, only signed a new contract before Christmas.

However, Sport Bild claim that Hincapie is “top of the list” of targets for the Blues and London rivals Tottenham.

Enzo Maresca’s side are looking to sign a new centre-back and the 23-year-old does fit the profile for what the club are looking for in terms of his age and attributes.

Could Hincapie replace Veiga?

The Ecuadorian is left-footed, and he is just as comfortable playing at left-back as he is at centre-half which suggests Chelsea’s interest may relate to the departure of Renato Veiga.

Although the Portuguese international’s loan switch to Juventus doesn’t include a purchase clause, the fact that he did force through a move suggests that his long-term future lies away from Stamford Bridge.

Hincapie would be a suitable replacement but Sport Bild report that he is valued at €70m (£59m), which could prove to be a major stumbling block.

Chelsea have their eye on another centre-back

The price may play a big factor in the Blues deciding against going after Hincapie, plus the fact that he would be competing with Levi Colwill for starting opportunities.

With that in mind, Maresca’s team may well consider pursuing a right-sided centre-half instead. The prime candidate would be former player Marc Guehi.

The England international would probably cost just as much as Hincapie if the club made their move this month. However, with Guehi reaching the final year of his contract at Crystal Palace this summer, he could be available for a much lower fee in the next transfer window.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here

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David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.