Tottenham target Piero Hincapie once said he was like Cristian Romero

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Tottenham Hotspur are one of the sides monitoring Piero Hincapie while the defender stars for Ecuador at the World Cup, according to a report from the Sunday Mirror (27/11; page 82).

Hincapie is winning a host of admirers with his form for Bayer Leverkusen. Along with Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea also have their eye on the 20-year-old centre-back.

Tottenham certainly need to strengthen at the heart of their backline. The move for Clement Lenglet is only a loan deal. And with that, it would appear that Hincapie may be a player they want for the future.

Hincapie thinks he’s like Cristian Romero

Certainly, if Spurs do sign Hincapie, they will hope that he proves to be as inspired an addition as Cristian Romero. The Argentinian has been outstanding since moving to the Premier League.

Romero is still perfecting his game. But there is no question that Tottenham signing him in 2021 is looking like a masterstroke. Unsurprisingly, they triggered the £42.5 million option to sign him permanently.

It seems that the chances of Hincapie emulating Romero are positive. In fact, he gave an interview to Scouted Football earlier this year in which he discussed who has influenced him in his career. And he went on to explain that he has been compared with Romero himself.

“On Fridays, when we travelled by bus for seven or eight hours to play for Independiente del Valle, I watched a lot of videos of Puyol and Sergio Ramos,” he told Scouted Football.

“I watched the videos so I wouldn’t get bored on the bus and that’s when I realised that I really liked Puyol. He had a special way of playing, perhaps less technical than Ramos, but he was a leader and captain. One of the best centre-backs I’ve ever seen.” 

“My brother tells me I’m a lot like him, I like him a lot,” he added, when discussing Romero.

There appears to be something in the comparison. FBRef lists Romero amongst the players who are similar to Hincapie.

Romero is the first-choice on the right of the back three. Meanwhile, Hincapie is able to play at centre-back or left-back. So the pair could easily sit either side of the player in the middle of the back three.

And his links with Romero should only help Tottenham’s cause if they do make a move. The Argentinian has been outstanding for the club. And Hincapie will surely be tempted to try and follow in his footsteps.