Arsenal poised to sign 24-year-old star in £45m deal
Arsenal are poised to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie on a permanent basis at the end of the season, according to The Sun.
The Ecuador international joined the Gunners on a season-long loan from Leverkusen on transfer deadline day last summer to replace Jakub Kiwior.
He was initially a regular on the bench for the north London giants, but has gone on to become an undisputed starter since the turn of the year.
The Sun now claim Arsenal have always planned to keep Hincapie, and his £45 million buy clause will be triggered during the next transfer window.
The deal was structured as a loan for accounting purposes, something Arsenal had previously done during David Raya’s temporary move from Brentford in 2023.
Arsenal went on to sign the Spaniard permanently for £27m in the summer of 2024, and Hincapie is expected to follow a similar path with the Gunners.
Hincapie has earned a permanent move to Arsenal
The 24-year-old has been one of Arsenal’s best-performing defenders over the past couple of months. He has nailed down the left-back position ahead of Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The Ecuadorian is primarily a centre-back by trade but has adapted brilliantly on the left side of the defence. In the recent game at Brighton & Hove Albion, he was tremendous in both positions.
Hincapie made superb recoveries in the opening half against the Seagulls as a left-back. After the hour mark, he was tasked with playing as the right-sided centre-back, replacing Cristhian Mosquera.
The defender did an equally good job with several clearances. He finished the game with 12 clearances while winning six ground and aerial duels. The Leverkusen loanee also made four recoveries.
Gabriel Magalhaes was handed the man of the match for a similar defensive display. The Brazilian made a superb clearance early on after David Raya almost gifted Brighton with the opening goal.
Hincapie had an equally good showing and could have received the award on another night. In our view, he has been a tremendous loan signing and deserves his permanent transfer this summer.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
The post Arsenal poised to sign 24-year-old star in £45m deal first appeared on ArsenalNews.co.uk.