Arsenal will sign a defender whose displays have “earned respect from around the world” if the Gunners succeed with a bid for Piero Hincapie, according to one of the Ecuador international’s bosses at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Premier League side are hoping to pay less than the release clause fee of around £52m for the 23-year-old, according to The Athletic, who say Hincapie has told Leverkusen he wants to leave.
A deal is said to be contingent on Arsenal selling players, with Porto keen on Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson also potentially set for moves before the transfer window closes on September 1.
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Piero Hincapie: Leverkusen ‘family’
When he signed a two-year contract extension until 2029 in December, Hincapie called Leverkusen “like a family to me”.
“This signature is more than just signing a contract,” he told Leverkusen’s website. “The club and the fans are special, and we have a team that showed [during their 2023/24 title win] what’s possible when you unconditionally stick together.
“I’m really happy that people are pleased with me and giving me the chance to continue to help shape the future of this club.”
A vital winner and a Man of the Match display from Piero #Hincapie! 🌟#RBLB04 | #Bayer04 #Werkself pic.twitter.com/f39FR3M1Uh
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) January 23, 2024
Leverkusen praised Hincapie as “tough-tackling and versatile”, while managing director for sport Simon Rolfes, who oversaw the £7m deal to sign him from Argentinian club Talleres in 2021, namechecked eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and four-time Premier League golden boot winner Mohamed Salah, of Liverpool.
“Piero Hincapie came to us as a 19-year-old in 2021, but even then we could see the confidence he has in his abilities,” said Rolfes.
“Today, Piero battles on an equal footing with world-class players like Lionel Messi and Mo Salah. He’s earned that respect from around the world.”
Why do Arsenal want Hincapie transfer?
Arsenal’s main contenders for the left-back position are Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and Zinchenko.
Italy international Calafiori scored in their opening 1-0 win at Manchester United and produced two assists in their subsequent 5-0 home win over Leeds, starting ahead of 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly.
Calafiori joined from Bologna for a reported fee of up to £42m in July 2024 but missed 23 games last season through a combination of injuries.
Hincapie has sat out two games through injury since joining Leverkusen, although he has missed 11 through suspension on his way to amassing 166 games for the club.
Forty-three of those came during Die Werkself’s remarkable unbeaten domestic campaign under Xabi Alonso in 2023/24, winning the Bundesliga and German Cup, as well as reaching the Europa League final.
Hincapie’s remarks about his close relationships with Leverkusen’s Spanish-speaking players bode well for Spaniards Arteta, David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi and MIkel Merino, as well as Brazil internationals Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
After scoring a 91st-minute winner at Leipzig during that 2023/24 season, said he has a “really great friendship on and off the pitch” with team-mate and Argentina midfielder Exequiel Palacios.
“We Latinos and Spaniards are all on the same wavelength, although we are the same with everybody else,” Hincapie added.
“Now you can say it’s more than just a team – it almost feels like a family.”
Piero Hincapie stats: Leverkusen, Ecuador
Hincapie has won almost 68% of his tackles against opposition dribblers at Leverkusen, according to FBREF, who say the Premier League full-backs he has been most similar to during the last year have been Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol and Arsenal’s Ben White, in order.
At centre-back, he is ranked closely to Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez, who was signed by Erik ten Hag for £46.8m in July 2022 while the Leverkusen boss was at Old Trafford, and former Bournemouth regular Dean Huijsen, who joined Alonso at Real Madrid for £50m in May.
Among his 46 caps, Hincapie’s performances at the 2021 Copa America enticed Leverkusen to move for him, although Ecuador’s campaign ended with a 3-0 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals, when Messi contributed two assists and a goal.
Ecuador have occasionally made Hincapie their captain and the former youth international has scored three goals for his country.
Go get that W, Piero! 🇪🇨#CA2024 @LaTri pic.twitter.com/wzKDlJCKje
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) June 22, 2024
Arsenal transfers 2025/26
Hincapie would be Arsenal’s eighth signing of the summer transfer window and join defensive additions Cristhian Mosquera – a versatile 21-year-old who cost £13m from Valencia – and Kepa, a £5m signing from Chelsea who remains the world’s most expensive goalkeeper thanks to the £72m fee Chelsea paid Athletic Club for him in 2018.
England’s Noni Madueke joined for an initial £48.5m from Chelsea and Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres ended his spectacularly prolific stay at Sporting to sign in a £64m deal.
Denmark’s Christian Norgaard arrived from Brentford for a fee of up to £15m and fellow midfielder Martin Zubimendi – a Spain international – came from Real Sociedad for £60m.
Former Arsenal academy player Eberechi Eze signed from Crystal Palace for an initial fee of £60m plus a potential £7.5m in add-ons.
Arsenal, Ecuador fixtures
Arsenal travel to Liverpool on August 31 (16:30 BST / 11:30 ET / 08:30 PT) and host Nottingham Forest on September 13 (12:30 BST / 07:30 ET / 04:30 PT).
They are at home to Manchester City on September 21 (16:30 BST / 11:30 ET / 08:30 PT), with their final fixture in September a trip to Newcastle at the same time a week later.
Hincapie’s Ecuador have World Cup qualifiers away to Paraguay on September 4 and at home to Argentina on September 9.
