Arsenal have Piero Hincapie bid ACCEPTED as Andrea Berta outmanoeuvres Bayer Leverkusen

Arsenal have advanced towards the signing of Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapie, with Fabrizio Romano providing all the details.

Arsenal have spent big this summer, signing Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze. The captures of Zubimendi, Gyokeres and Eze will be particularly important as Arsenal look to finally end their wait for Premier League glory.

The Gunners are not finished there, though. They have identified Hincapie as a perfect signing to improve the left side of defence.

Hincapie can shine as either a left-sided centre-half or at left-back, and is viewed as a replacement for Jakub Kiwior in Mikel Arteta’s squad.

TEAMtalk revealed on Monday that Tottenham Hotspur were considering a move for the Ecuador international. But Spurs have already been beaten to the signing of Eze by Arsenal, and the same looks set to happen with Hincapie.

It emerged earlier on Friday that Arsenal have ‘offered’ €50million (£43m) for Hincapie.

Romano has provided an update on X, formerly Twitter. He reports that Leverkusen have ‘accepted’ Arsenal’s proposal to sign the player on loan with an obligation to buy.

This is the ‘formula wanted by Arsenal’. Leverkusen were initially demanding that Hincapie’s €60m (£52m) release clause be triggered immediately, but Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has strong-armed them into accepting a loan with obligation.

Arsenal are ‘closing in’ on Hincapie’s capture, with Romano stating that it will be ‘here we go soon’. The final agreement is close, with the two clubs working on the structure of the deal.

At the time of writing, Romano has yet to disclose the exact fee Arsenal will pay Leverkusen for Hincapie.

It will be yet more fantastic work from Berta if he manages to sign Hincapie for less than his €60m exit clause.

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Piero Hincapie has already agreed Arsenal contract

It was revealed on Tuesday that the defender has ‘agreed personal terms’ with Arsenal. He is aware of Spurs’ interest but ‘favours’ a move to the Emirates.

Recent reports have suggested that negotiations between Arsenal and Leverkusen had hit an impasse, with the German club refusing to accept a loan with obligation, or anything less than his release clause.

But Hincapie has been ‘pushing’ to join Arsenal in recent days, and this may have convinced Leverkusen to lower their demands slightly.

With Hincapie poised to join, Kiwior will be allowed to sign for Portuguese giants Porto.

Arsenal have accepted a loan-to-buy offer for Kiwior, with his transfer to Porto getting Romano’s ‘here we go’ treatment. Arsenal will receive a €2m loan fee, while the obligation to buy stands at €17m. Add-ons and a sell-on clause could take the deal to €27m (£23m) eventually.

Oleksandr Zinchenko has been tipped to follow Kiwior out of Arsenal in recent days, but he could instead run down his contract before leaving on a free transfer next summer.

Fellow left-back Kieran Tierney has already departed, returning to Celtic for free.

Hincapie is a top Bundesliga defender