Tottenham Hotspur have been given a huge setback in their bid to sign Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie, according to reports - with the German club having 'no intention' of selling the Ecuador international this transfer window as they look to keep the core of their remaining squad ahead of a challenging campaign.
The report by Fabrizio Romano states that despite Premier League clubs appreciating his talents, Leverkusen see Hincapie as a key part of their project - especially having lost Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Odilon Kossounou and Granit Xhaka this summer.
Report: Tottenham Suffer Setback in Race for Piero Hincapie
The Bundesliga giants have no intentions of selling the Ecuadorian star this summer, as he's seen as a crucial star for Erik ten Hag to work with, and that has ruled Tottenham out of the race.
Spurs have already suffered transfer setbacks in the transfer window this summer, with a bid for Morgan Gibbs-White being unable to go through after their 'illegal' approach to Nottingham Forest, as well as a move for Manchester City star Savinho being blocked - but they've instead chucked the money at Crystal Palace for Eberechi Eze, agreeing a £60million fee with the Eagles for his services.
Yet having already brought in three centre-backs this summer in the form of Luka Vuskovic, Kota Takai and Kevin Danso, with the latter making last season's loan spell a permanent move, it remains to be seen whether they'll dip into the market for another centre-back to fit into their ranks alongside Radu Dragusin, Cristian Romano and Micky Van de Ven ahead of their Champions League crusade under new boss Thomas Frank.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Piero Hincapie has three goals in 46 caps for Ecuador.
Tottenham insider Paul O'Keefe previously stated that Spurs had identified the former Talleres star as their 'favoured' left-sided centre-back, despite a deal being difficult to do, though he was their ideal candidate before Leverkusen's hard-stance, which now means that Tottenham won't be able to sign the 23-year-old.
Hincapie joined Leverkusen in the summer of 2021, and has since been an extremely dependable member of their squad during their revival under manager Xabi Alonso, which saw them claim the Bundesliga title for the first time in the club's history with an invincible season, as well as winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the final of the Europa League, losing in what was their only defeat in all competitions in the entire campaign.
A defender with such an impeccable record could be the difference between another trophy and failure for Spurs this summer, having secured the Europa League trophy themselves against Manchester United in May.