Tottenham have seen their move for Sporting Lisbon full-back Pedro Porro collapse.
Spurs are working against the clock to strengthen Antonio Conte’s squad before the Tuesday deadline, having signed just one player so far in the January transfer window. Forward Arnaut Danjuma joined on loan until the end of the season, with an option to buy from Villarreal, on Thursday – but defensive additions have not been finalised.
Tottenham have been in talks with Sporting over right-back Porro for some time and had been expected to tie up the deal before Tuesday’s 11pm deadline. He has long been the club's No.1 target this window. But, as first reported by The Athletic, the deal for Porro has dramatically gone south and, as it stands, he will no longer be arriving in north London.
Sporting president Frederico Varandas had given the move the go-ahead, with Porro set to travel to London after the Portuguese League Cup final on Saturday. Porro played the full 90 minutes of Sporting’s 2-0 defeat by rivals Porto.
But Sporting, who had lined up Barcelona right-back Hector Bellerin as a potential replacement, for whatever reason reneged on the agreed upon terms and looked to renegotiate. Thus, unhappy with what's occurred, Spurs have decided to back out of the deal.
With that, it's claimed in Germany that Tottenham are now focusing on Hincapie, with Bild reporting that they have submitted an official bid of £22million for the 21-year-old defender. Hincapie is not a like-for-like replacement for Porro however, as, left-footed, he plays in central defence. He has also featured at left-back this season.
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Hincapie has already won 21 caps for Ecuador and has made 54 appearances for Leverkusen since joining the German side from Argentinian side Talleres in August 2021. He is under contract until June 2026 and is a regular for Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso. Leverkusen are in a strong position and, with less than 48 hours left in the transfer window, won't be letting him go on the cheap.
Conte has regularly spoken of his frustration with Tottenham’s transfer policy. The Italian manager is out of contract in the summer and has refused to commit to the club beyond the end of the season.
"To be honest, I don’t want to go into this situation because I have a lot of headaches,” he said last week when asked about transfers. “I think that at the end of the transfer market, probably the club will explain our transfer market, [like] I asked last time, our vision, the way that we are in this moment.”
Spurs are fifth in the Premier League, having won just two of their five games in the league since the return after the World Cup. Conte’s side did beat Preston 3-0 in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday evening, however, and will return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Manchester City.
One man who looks set to depart before the deadline is Spanish winger Bryan Gil. He's fallen down the pecking order with Danjuma's arrival and is set to head back to Sevilla on loan. Djed Spence could also be loaned out if an agreeable deal can be found.
