It wasn’t quite a good, old-fashioned ‘come and get me plea’. But it may not have been too far off, one the many defenders on the radar of Premier League giants Liverpool not so much knocking on Jurgen Klopp’s door as much as throwing them wide open.
HITC Football understands that Liverpool are looking at left-sided centre-halves ahead of the summer transfer window. There is interest in, amongst others, Chelsea’s Levi Colwill and Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio.
Xabi Alonso, meanwhile, is not the only Bayer Leverkusen man with admirers at Anfield. The agent of Piero Hincapie confirmed that Liverpool came calling last summer and that interest remains, nearly 12 months’ on.
David Hancko, however, ensured that he too is likely to be part of the conversation when the window opens, despite extending his Feyenoord contract as recently as January. Hancko, part of Arne Slot’s 2022/23 Eredivisie-winning side, opened up this week on his admiration for the six-time European champions.
He has been a Liverpool ‘fan’, the Slovakia international admits, ever since Steven Gerrard sparked the comeback of comebacks against AC Milan in that 2005 Champions League final, the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ leaving quite the impression on the Dutch league winner.
The sight of Martin Skrtl – one of Slovakia’s favourite sons – plying his trade in that famous red shirt only deepened that love.
“I probably watch the English Premier League the most, so (moving there) would be my dream,” Hancko tells Aktuality Sport. “And the club? My role model has always been (Manchester United icon) David Beckham, but I was most drawn to Liverpool.
“Since then (that Milan triumph), I’ve been a Liverpool fan.”
Hancko may feel as if he has a point to prove in one of Europe’s major leagues too. He barely featured during three years at Fiorentina between 2018 and 2021, after all. The man who brought him to Serie A, however, could hardly be more glowing in his praise of Hancko, even if things did not really go to plan for him in Italy.
Van Dijk’s long-term replacement?
“He was a boy who, when we signed him, was very young,” Pantaleo Corvino, now a director at Lecce, tells Radio Kiss Kiss. “We bought him for 1.8 million euros because, despite being from a small club in Slovakia, the potential that I saw was also seen by the club that sold him.
“He is an extraordinary boy, intelligent and capable of being both a scorer and a central defender. He can play (in a backline of) three or four.”
Hancko, who would likely provide support for Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, was valued at around £20 million when Napoli tried to sign him last summer. It is not yet known what impact that new contract has had on his price-tag.
Hancko’s agent admitted back in January that there is interest not only from Liverpool but from French powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain too. It almost goes without saying, however, that if given the choice between the two, even PSG’s best efforts are unlikely to be rewarded.
