Arsenal have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to sign defender Piero Hincapie.
The deal is a season-long loan including an option to buy for a total package of €52million — plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
Personal terms are in place for the 23-year-old Ecuador international to transfer permanently next summer on a five-year contract.
He is expected to travel from Germany to London this weekend to undergo a medical and complete his switch to the Emirates Stadium.
Hincapie’s acquisition will let fellow left-sided centre-back Jakub Kiwior join Porto in a move worth a guaranteed €25m rising to €27m.
Having featured prominently among Arsenal’s targets for some time, Hincapie is now set to arrive and bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad.
The Athletic reported on Monday that Arsenal were working on a deal to sign Hincapie.
Hincapie only signed a contract extension with Leverkusen last December, with those terms running until June 2029, but he wants to leave and has informed the Bundesliga club of his wish.
His preference was to join Arsenal and the Premier League club had been ready to push for him, if they managed to move players out before the summer transfer window shuts.
As reportedly by The Athletic on Friday, Porto have agreed a deal worth no more than €27million for Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior, although the move is dependent on the Premier League club landing Hincapie.
Leverkusen would prefer to keep the defender unless a €60million release clause in his terms is activated, although efforts are being made to lower that fee to a more realistic market value.
He played more than an hour in Leverkusen’s opening game of the season as they beat Sonnenhof Grossaspach 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal, and appeared tearful on the pitch after his side’s 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Hincapie appeared in all but two of Leverkusen’s 34 Bundesliga games last season, also starting nine of 10 in the Champions League, missing one match due to suspension.
He featured primarily as the left-sided centre-back in a back three during Xabi Alonso’s near three seasons as Leverkusen head coach, a role has again taken up for Erik ten Hag’s first two matches in charge.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson among the other squad members who leave Arsenal before the deadline.
Hincapie has played 165 times for Leverkusen since joining from Argentine side Talleres in 2021, and has 46 caps for Ecuador since making his senior debut that year.
The Ecuadorian could join an Arsenal defensive unit that includes first-choice centre-back pairing William Saliba and Gabriel, as well as Riccardo Calafiori, Kiwior, Ben White and Jurrien Timber.
Arsenal have so far signed Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Christian Norgaard this summer.
(Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images)