Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Piero Hincapie after hijacking Tottenham’s move for the Bayer Leverkusen defender.
Spurs were leading the race to sign Ecuador international Hincapie after he informed Leverkusen of his desire to leave before the transfer deadline.
Hincapie, who can play left-back or in the middle, has been a key player for the Bundesliga club since his move from Talleres in 2021.
Leverkusen are reluctant to lose yet another key player this summer but Hincapie is pushing hard to leave and looked tearful following last weekend’s defeat to Hoffenheim.
A move to Tottenham looked the most likely outcome but Arsenal have jumped to the front of the queue to sign Hincapie this week.
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The Gunners expressed interest in hijacking another Spurs move following their £68m deal for Eberechi Eze and have now agreed personal terms with Hincapie, according to Fabrizio Romano.
While Hincapie was excited about the prospect of playing for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham, early reports claimed he favoured a move to north London rivals Arsenal.
The 23-year-old could become Mikel Arteta’s eighth signing of the summer but Arsenal are waiting to sell Jakub Kiwior before sanctioning the move.
Kiwior has made 30 appearances for Arsenal in each of the last two seasons but is yet to feature for the Gunners this term.
Porto are working on a deal for the Poland international and The Sun say Kiwior has already agreed personal terms ahead of the proposed move.
It is claimed Arsenal are ready to agree a loan deal for Kiwior with an obligation for Porto to sign the defender for around £22.5m next summer.
However, Arteta is unwilling to sanction the transfer exit before a replacement is signed.
The proposed deal would represent a small profit for Arsenal, who paid £17.6m to sign Kiwior from Spezia in 2023.
Arteta has already welcomed seven new signings to the Emirates Stadium this summer, the latest being England star Eze from Crystal Palace.
Arsenal’s productive transfer window and a bright start to the new season has raised hope of a successful title challenge among fans of the club.
The Gunners ground out a 1-0 win over Manchester United on the opening weekend before thrashing newly-promoted Leeds United 5-1 last time out.
Arsenal face by far their biggest test so far this weekend when they travel to Anfield to face defending Premier League champions Liverpool.
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