Xabi Alonso’s decision to remain at Bayer Leverkusen beyond the 2023/24 campaign could be pivotal ahead of the club’s next summer window.
The suggestion had been that several members of the Bundesliga outfit’s side could be tempted to call time on their careers at the BayArena had the Spaniard been set to depart.
German football insider Christian Falk, however, has since made clear that some exits could still occur amid Premier League interest.
“So far, the league leaders have a strong squad from positions one to 18,” the head of football at the BILD Group informed CaughtOffside in his exclusive Fact Files column.
“If Jonathan Tah stays, another central defender may want to leave to play at another club: Piero Hincapié (22).
“The Ecuadorian is being courted by English clubs like Tottenham. Transfer fee: at least €40m, which Simon Rolfes and Xabi Alonso could immediately invest in the new team.”
€40m (£34.1m) will be the minimum starting point, though it has to be said it’s an extremely cheap asking price (by Premier League standards) for one of the top emerging defensive talents in Europe.
Ange Postecoglou has made transfer objective clear
If players are only joining Tottenham to benefit from their potential Champions League status in 2024/25.
A reasonable position to make clear ahead of the summer and, more importantly, a follow-up campaign in which the North London outfit will hope to seriously improve on.
Adding a likely title winner to the group, provided Piero Hincapie meets the criteria set out by Spurs’ affable head coach, would certainly support that aim.