Arsenal close in on Piero Hincapie transfer after £25million breakthrough
Arsenal have edged closer to signing defender Piero Hincapie after agreeing a deal to offload a fringe player.
Mikel Arteta has been told he has to sell before he can purchase Hincapie, amid the Gunners’ spending spree of over £200million this summer in a bid to win a fourth Premier League crown.
Arsenal are in talks to sign Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, who has a £52m release clause in his contract and was always wanted by Tottenham.
The 23-year-old would be Arteta’s second addition at centre-halve of the window after Christian Mosquera joined from Valencia.
Fee agreed for Jakub Kiwior sale
A move for Hincapie could now be completed quickly after a deal was agreed with Porto for the sale of Jakub Kiwior, but it is subject to the arrival of the Leverkusen defender first, as per The Athletic [29 August].
Arsenal will receive a fee of £25m, which could rise to £27m, for the 25-year-old, with personal teams already agreed.
Kiwior has been a reliable squad player under Arteta, but with Gabriel and William Saliba opportunities have been few and far between for the Pole.
| Jakub Kiwior | Stats |
| Appearances | 68 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 5 |
Jakub Kiwior could be first of late sales
Football Insider Verdict
Selling Kiwior is the first step for Arsenal to purchase Hincapie, and his departure could start a late flurry of sales at the Emirates.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Viera are also on the transfer list and looking to be sold.
Fulham have expressed interest in Zinchenko, if the Cottagers lose Antonee Robinson, though there are fears the Ukrainian could run down the final year of his contract.
Viera has been in talks with Stuttgart over a loan deal, after he spent the season at Porto last campaign.
Although selling both will have too late an impact in this window, it will balance the books and could therefore help Arteta in the January window if incomings are needed.
Otherwise, it looks like Arsenal’s transfer window is complete and Arteta has secured the player he most wanted, Viktor Gyokeres.