Newcastle United are thought to be interested in a transfer move for 21-year-old centre back Piero Hincapie (currently playing for Bayer Leverkusen) in January, recent reports suggest.

Jacobs believes that the Toon could secure Hincapie’s services for a fee of £35 million – moreover, he also believes that the Ecuadorian would be interested in a move to the Premier League.

Newcastle are not the only Premier League club who reportedly have Hincapie in their crosshairs, however – he is also believed to be a transfer target for West Ham United.

What did Ben Jacobs say regarding Piero Hincapie?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jacobs said: “I would keep an eye probably next summer on Hincapie as well for Newcastle. They didn’t seriously entertain anything over the summer and he’s contracted at Bayer Leverkusen until 2027 I believe, so there wasn’t necessarily a realistic chance of them selling last summer.

“But that’s a player that would love to play in the Premier League and if anyone puts down £35 million, he is going to push for that move to England for sure. West Ham United are the other club that have taken a little look at Hincapie.

“So Newcastle could be one to watch there, we’ll have to wait and see. But I do think there’ll be in the market for a centre back at some point in 2024, whether [in] January or whether next summer.”

What would Piero Hincapie add to the Newcastle United squad?

In the summer transfer window, Newcastle made some excellent additions to the team, bringing in quality talents such as Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento.

However, one position that they did not bolster was centre back. In truth, they did not really need to – Fabian Schar and Sven Botman have formed an excellent partnership, while Jamaal Lascelles and Dan Burn make for very solid rotation options.

Nevertheless, with Lascelles reportedly considering a move away from the club, it would be an intelligent move to replace him before he departs. Bringing in Hincapie, whose best years are still well ahead of him, could prove to be a brilliant way to go about this.