Tottenham are reportedly investigating a potential move for young Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie, despite the hefty asking price for the Ecuador international.
Hincapie, 21, is in his second Bundesliga season after arriving from Argentinian side Talleres, and has forced his way into Leverkusen's starting XI, earning 13 starts among his 15 total league appearances this campaign.
He also has 24 senior international caps for Ecuador under his belt, playing every minute of his country's three group stage fixtures at the Qatar World Cup.
Hincapie's emergence has not gone unnoticed, and Leverkusen are said to be informing interested clubs that any sale of their talented youngster will come at a heavy price.
TOP STORY – SPURS KICK THE TYRES ON PRIZED LEVERKUSEN DEFENDER
According to the Sun, Spurs boss Antonio Conte is desperate to add a new central defender before the end of the month, but the club were knocked back by a massive £80million price tag.
The report indicates Hincapie would be in favour of a move to the Premier League, and to Tottenham specifically, but that it would be far more likely to occur at the end of the season.
Interestingly, the Sun believes Leverkusen would be open to accepting as little as £20m if it meant Hincapie could spend the rest of the season on loan with the German side, but with his contract tying him to Leverkusen until 2026, it is hard to believe they would budge so significantly from their lofty valuation.
It also mentions Tottenham's pursuit of Sporting right-back Pedro Porro is on the verge of falling through, but Portuguese publication Record is reporting that a verbal agreement is in place for a £42m (€48m) deal.
ROUND-UP
– GiveMeSport are reporting Chelsea will make a run at 23-year-old Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic at the end of the season, while Calciomercato adds Juventus are anticipating the Serbian's departure and will seek to replace him with 25-year-old Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman.
– According to Sport, Barcelona are focusing on 25-year-old Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves as their long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets after failing to land Real Sociedad talent Martin Zubimendi.
– Manchester United believe they are priced out of the Harry Kane sweepstakes, per the Daily Star.
– Mail on Sunday are reporting Arsenal have returned with a second offer for 21-year-old Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo, but their £70m bid is still below the £80m demand.
– The Telegraph adds that the outcome of Arsenal's push for Caicedo will not affect their desire to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice after the season, and they will try to secure both.
Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley: Rampant Rashford nets twice in EFL Cup rout
Marcus Rashford was on target again with a double as Manchester United demolished third-tier Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round.
Rashford had scored his first goal since mid-March in Saturday's Premier League victory at Southampton, after which Erik ten Hag predicted more would follow.
And the United manager was quickly proven right as Rashford grabbed the first and fifth goals on Tuesday, helping to fire the Red Devils into the last 16 of the EFL Cup.
Rashford, who netted in United's final victory over Newcastle United in this competition two seasons ago, appeared full of confidence after 16 minutes as he brought down Alejandro Garnacho's crossfield pass, skipped past Marc Roberts and blasted into the top corner.
The exiled England international was not alone among United's under-fire forwards in enjoying a productive game in front of goal either, with Antony getting his first of the season by winning and converting a penalty.
It was three on the stroke of half-time as Garnacho prodded in after Rashford was tackled in the area, and the excellent Argentina winger scored again shortly after the restart.
Rashford raced onto another Garnacho pass and finished coolly just before the hour mark, before Christian Eriksen added a late brace of his own.
Data Debrief: He shoots, he scores
It was hard to foresee Rashford's three-goal week prior to the Southampton match – primarily because the United number 10 was not shooting, let alone scoring.
Rashford appeared in United's first three Premier League matches of the season without even attempting a shot, but Barnsley's goal was subjected to target practice on Tuesday as his confidence returned.
Those two Rashford goals came from six attempts, including five from inside the box as he thrived in a central striking role after so often toiling on the left wing.
Kane makes English history after passing Rooney's Champions League mark
Harry Kane stretched to further record-breaking ground by surpassing Wayne Rooney for the most goals by an English player in Champions League history.
Bayern Munich forward Kane opened the scoring against Dinamo Zagreb with a penalty at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
That moved the England captain level with former Manchester United star Rooney on 30 Champions League strikes, the joint-most by any player from their country.
Kane later eased past Rooney's mark in the second half, powering home his 31st strike in the competition to take the outright English record.
Kane netted eight times in UEFA's top club competition last season, his most in a single edition, and has got off to a blistering start in the revamped 2024-25 format.
His second finish of the game helped Bayern to a 4-2 lead before Michael Olise's second goal extended the hosts' advantage further shortly after.
'Amazing' Villa boss Emery makes playing 'so easy', says former Sevilla star
Unai Emery makes life "so easy" for his players, according to the Aston Villa manager's Europa League-winning goalkeeper.
Beto played for Sevilla as they won three consecutive Europa Leagues under Emery, featuring in the first two title runs, including starring in a penalty shoot-out triumph against Benfica in the 2014 final.
And despite going on to endure slightly more testing spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, Emery has continued to deliver on the European stage.
He guided Villarreal to another Europa League win, before returning Villa to European football and then the Champions League. Villa beat Young Boys 3-0 in their league phase opener on Tuesday.
Emery's success comes as no surprise to former Portugal international Beto, who explained the brilliance of his old boss while speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal.
"Unai has many things that make him different," Beto told Stats Perform. "The passion that he has for football makes him different.
"The way that he studies every detail, not only in the opponent but in his team. He knows every player. He knows how to get the best out of each player in his team.
"For us, it was amazing, he knew what was going to happen in the 45th minute of the game. This is going to happen.
"If the picture is this one, we will act this way. If the game is like in another way, we're going to act this way.
"So, he had everything planned; every scenario, every situation he had planned. And for us, the players, we had all the information, we had everything. We just had to be ourselves and put our talent at the service of the team.
"And for us, it was so easy to play being coached by Unai. He was an amazing person.
"He respects football. And I think it's one of the secrets of Unai, he respects football. He gives everything for football.
"So, not only in Sevilla, I know he had some bad moments in Arsenal, but he came back in Villarreal. He won another Europa League in Villarreal.
"He brought back Aston Villa to the top. I have too much credit for Unai because I love him, respect him and he will be forever one of my best coaches and my best friends."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
