Manchester United, All in for Florentino's 'Hidden' Center-Back, €42 Million

One of the  major dilemmas Real Madrid has for the current season is, without a doubt, the center-back position. The injuries recorded during the current soccer season, as well as the departure of Nacho Fernández, have led Carlo Ancelotti to request the urgent arrival of a reinforcement for the position.

The white bosses  attempted to sign Leny Yoro, but Manchester United offered much more money to both LOSC Lille and the French footballer... and they ended up gaining the upper hand in this "soap opera" of last summer's transfer market. Since then,  the offices at Valdebebas have been more eagerly searching for a footballer who meets their demanding requirements.

They seem to have found it in Dean Huijsen. The '2' from AFC Bournemouth is one of the surprises of the season in the Premier League, whose constantly improving performance would have led him to his first international draft. His debut with the Spanish national team, last March, made him coincide with Raúl Asencio.

The '35' from the Canary Islands is the first of the two center-backs with whom Real Madrid hopes to renew the core of the defense, a process that will not be easy or cheap. Especially because Dean Huijsen has a release clause close to 60 million euros... a figure that seems excessive to much of the Madrid leadership.

Important Dilemma

Given that economic hurdle,  Juni Calafat's scouts have "rescued" options like Piero Hincapié. The also left-footed center-back from Bayer Leverkusen is an ideal alternative to Dean Huijsen, but his incorporation presents even more complications than the negotiations for the cherry footballer. Not only because of the hypothetical transfer to be paid to the werkself entity.

Piero Hincapié has a contract until the summer of 2029 with Bayer Leverkusen and a market value of 50 million euros. As it stands, from the BayArena they wouldn't let him leave for an amount less than 70 million, a figure too high for the white treasury. Furthermore,  this footballer on the merengue list of future prospects presents very well-known competition  for the executives led by Florentino Pérez.

According to the information from SPORT, Manchester United would be interested in acquiring the services of the Ecuadorian defender to renew their defense. The envoys from Old Trafford would approach Bayer Leverkusen with the intention of  executing a release clause set at just 42 million. That price would make Piero Hincapié a clear target for the white club in the summer market.

Especially because it would have a lower cost than Dean Huijsen: the Spanish center-back is, so far, the "favorite" to join Santiago Bernabéu locker room by mid-2025. As it stands, Real Madrid finds itself in a  very important dilemma that can only be solved by signing one  of these two promising center-backs from the European elite.