David Hancko’s agent has confirmed that Liverpool and PSG are among the several clubs keeping track of the Feyenoord defender.
Whilst a summer move is considerably more likely for the 26-year-old, it was claimed that there remains a 10-20% chance he could depart in the winter window.
“As an agency, we are in contact not only with these two clubs, but also with others who are looking into Dávid’s situation,” the player’s agent told TN.cz. “I estimate that 80-90% Dávid will stay in Rotterdam, because Feyenoord is fighting for the Champions League and the people at Feyenoord know that Dávid Hancko will be sold even in the summer and maybe better than now.”
The centre-back is currently valued at £38.5m, according to one report cited by Nicolo Schira on X.
What do the stats say?
It’s an intriguing option, to say the least, given that Hancko is deemed to bear some statistical similarities to another linked centre-half in Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande, according to FBref.
The Slovakian is left-footed and tends to play the bulk of his games as a left-sided central defender, which would highlight him as a potential alternative to Virgil van Dijk.
FBref have him down as one of the most creative, progressive defenders in world football, with stats percentile rankings that would make your eyes water.
Hancko is aerially unreliable
But – and by God is it a positively ginormous ‘but’ – we have our concerns over Hancko’s ability to be a presence in the air.
Three of Liverpool’s senior centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip have averaged an aerial duel win percentage above a minimum threshold of 69% – even Jarell Quansah isn’t far off with 66.7%.
The Feyenoord man, however, is currently winning 56.3% of his aerial duels – a sharp drop-off to even our most inexperienced (20-year-old) centre-half this term.
Not good enough, we’d judge, to earn a move to a top Premier League outfit.