Bayer Leverkusen have supposedly knocked back an approach from Liverpool over a January deal for Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapie.
With only a few days remaining before the transfer window slams shut until the summer, Liverpool have failed to bring any new faces to Anfield, only welcoming a handful of youngsters back from loan spells elsewhere.
A defensive injury crisis has led to suggestions that a rearguard reinforcer could be targeted, as Joel Matip is expected to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
In addition, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas have all missed a good chunk of the winter period with their own afflictions, forcing Joe Gomez to play at left-back and allowing 20-year-old Conor Bradley to earn his stars on the right.
Gomez and Bradley have put in a string of impressive displays for Jurgen Klopp's side over the past few weeks, but according to the Anfield Watch, the Reds still tested Leverkusen's resolve over a January deal for Hincapie.
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However, the Bundesliga leaders rebuffed Liverpool's attempts to prise the 22-year-old away from the BayArena, meaning that the Reds are likely to enter February without making a single addition to their squad.
Nevertheless, the report adds that Hincapie remains high on Liverpool's shortlist ahead of a possible summer switch, as the Reds have earmarked the left-sided centre-back position as a priority area to strengthen.
Hincapie - who is also a competent left-back for club and country - arrived at Leverkusen for a mere £5.4m in 2021 and has made 95 appearances for Die Werkself over the past two and a half years, contributing four goals and three assists.
The versatile defender has struggled for regular Bundesliga starts during Leverkusen's title charge this season, only making the first XI on five occasions, but he has played the full 90 in each of their last two top-flight contests and scored a late winner in a 3-2 beating of RB Leipzig last weekend.
Hincapie's injury-time strike saw Alonso's men maintain their four-point lead over perennial champions Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga standings, and Leverkusen have no intention of thinning their squad as they bid to hold off their Bavarian counterparts.
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The Ecuador international - who started all three of his nation's group games at the 2022 World Cup - still has three-and-a-half-years left to run on his Leverkusen contract, which he extended until 2027 last February, but the German outfit are braced for summer bids.
In addition to Hincapie, Liverpool are also being tipped to prise head coach Alonso away from the BayArena following the sensational news that Klopp will be stepping down as manager at the end of the current season.
The Reds supposedly do not have a successor lined up to replace the 56-year-old just yet, but Alonso - a member of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League-winning squad - has unsurprisingly emerged as the early favourite.
The Spaniard recently insisted that he remains focused on the task at hand with Leverkusen when asked about filling Klopp's boots, but he refused to rule out taking charge of the Merseyside giants in the future.
However, should Real Madrid be on the lookout for a replacement for Carlo Ancelotti this summer, the Spanish heavyweights could rival Liverpool for Alonso's signature, while Bayern Munich - another of the 42-year-old's former clubs - may emerge as contenders if Thomas Tuchel loses his job in the near future.
Ben Knapton
